Farmers across India move online, earn over 15% more for their produceApart from higher earning, the elimination of the middleman and commissioning agent has helped them get instant cash for their produce

Deepak Chauhan, a farmer in Sultanpur village of Aurangabad’s district, has six acres of land and he plans to buy an acre more. Chauhan is buoyed by the 20 per cent earnings he got additionally by selling his products online directly to Swarup Satkari FPC, a farmers produce company (FPC).

Swarup Satkari, one of the largest FPCs in Sultanpur, has registered around 400 farmers in the region and helps them trade maize, soybean, pulses and other agricultural commodities directly to bulk dealers and corporate consumers. There are more than 300 FPCs registered across Maharashtra that help farmers of all incomes sell their produce online. FPCs in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Punjab too have helped farmers take advantage of online trade that leaves out middle men and earn higher value of their produce.

A number of FPCs have taken membership of the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) to take reference of futures price and make selling decisions.

“We have successfully sold maize and soybean through online platforms through futures and spot auctions. Earlier, we used to sell our produce in distress at the time of harvesting to pay lenders spontaneously. But, our FPC has helped us realize higher. This year alone, we have successfully earned 20 per cent more profits by selling online,” said Chauhan.

Farmers like Chauhan have avoided distress sale, as FPCs and other online partners help them avail funds to pay lenders and sell their produce on highs.

Apart from that, warehousing companies like Star Agriwarehousing & Collateral management Ltd (Star Agri) and National Collateral Management Services Ltd (NCML) have also launched their online commodity trading platforms auction agricultural commodities of their clients to facilitate fetching higher prices. While Star Agri has launched agriBazaar dot com, NCML has introduced the marketyard dot com to facilitate their clients to sell their produce. Another warehousing company National Bulk Handling Corporation (NBHC) is planning to introduce online trading platform to facilitate its clients rule out commission agent and earn higher by selling agricultural produce directly to bulk consumers.

“On AgriBazaar, we have done transaction worth over $1.4 billion and delivered over 1.8 million tonnes of agri produce, largely pulses, grains, spices, apples and walnuts. Moreover, more than 150,000 farmers are associated with us to get benefit of our services,” said Amith Agarwal, co-founder and chief executive officer of Star Agri.

The online platforms by warehousing service providers are different from that of electronic National Agriculture Market (eNAM), a Union government initiative.

While eNAM is a mandi-linked service, the platforms developed by warehousing companies are useful for post-mandi services for their clients who deposit goods in these warehouses either for future sale or avail funding from banks and financial institutions to avoid distress sale.

“Our platforms offer clients auctions and other related services. In a major advantage for our clients, we have negotiated with seven banks to allow users settle their accounts even if they have loan outstanding against them,” said Sanjay Kaul, managing director, NCML.

Through online sale, farmers earn at least 15-20 per cent more now than the price they used to fetch earlier. Apart from that, the elimination of the middleman and commissioning agent has helped them get instant cash for their produce.

Farming gets frugal: New technologies are making farmers more productive

Several Indian and global drip irrigation companies are developing new technologies to address erratic and uneven rainfall and to manage ground water efficiently

To a casual onlooker, J S Rana’s five acres of agricultural farmland does not look very different from those of other farmers in Nandana village in Haryana’s Karnal district. Look closer, though, and you can spot telemetry devices along with panels mounted onto poles on the road adjoining his fields.

What you cannot see at all are the sensors buried in the farmland that help Rana to irrigate his land “smartly” based on data that reveals the moisture level in the soil.

Rana uses Jain Logic, an integrated automation solutions for the management of irrigation developed by Jain Irrigation. Last year, Rana grew wheat on this field. This year, with the help of the technology, he has gone for paddy cultivation, a notorious water guzzler he would normally have avoided.

At the core of Jain Logic are the soil moisture monitoring sensors which constantly monitor the movement of soil moisture levels within the root zone (of the crop). The information is captured by the telemetric device or the controlling units located nearby.

These devices, which are equipped with mobile SIM cards, transmit the data to the backend servers for analysis. Combining this data with general irrigation data and with rain forecasting data from external sources such as the met department, the team at the backend analyses it using machine-learning algorithms.

The result predicts precisely when Rana should irrigate his fields over the following seven days and by how much. “This way, if there is erratic rainfall, or prolonged rain, the farmer can plan his irrigation schedule,” said Anil Jain, managing director, Jain Irrigation.

Rana and his fellow farmers are cultivating export-grade Basmati rice this cropping season, using drip irrigation for the first time.

While drip irrigation for paddy has been used for some years now in several states, including Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, it’s just beginning to pick up in Haryana and Punjab where ground water levels are fast depleting owing to over-exploitation.

While around 25 farmers in Karnal and other districts are trying out drip irrigation, Rana’s land was selected for the sensor-based smart irrigation technology as part of a pilot project sponsored by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

The Agency is encouraging farmers to produce rice with a low water and carbon footprint in order to be able to import to European countries. It approached Jain Irrigation to track the moisture levels because it wanted to be sure that farmers were genuinely following drip irrigation rather than flood irrigation.

As a crop that devours water, rice can have a devastating impact on greenhouse gases. Agricultural scientists are continuously working on technological innovations to grow rice with drip irrigation technology.

According to Jain, the technology also has health benefits. Clean water storage in the field is prone to waterborne diseases including diarrhoea, malaria and typhoid. “With this technology, water transportation from the resource to the root (of the plant) will reduce over-irrigation and therefore prevent these waterborne diseases,” he said.

The sensors are not cheap, however, as they are imported. A good quality soil moisture sensor costs around Rs 22,000-Rs 25,000. Typically, one sensor is required for every acre of land to get accurate data. In addition, there is the cost of installing the telemetry devices and the subscription charge.

Abhijit Joshi, senior vice-president, product development, said the company is trying to cut the cost. “We are working with Japanese companies to bring down the cost of the soil moisture sensors and by next year we will be able to release this kind of product,” he said.

The company’s technology is also on trial at its own mango orchards in Jalgaon. “It’s a different kind of trial, what we call ultra high density plantation. Typically for mango cultivation, farmers follow a 30/30 feet spacing. That means in one acre of land, you get around 40 plants whereas we are now changing the spacing to something like two to three metres, which means one can get around 600 mango trees per acre,” said Joshi.

However, conventional mango trees cannot be used. In the trees used by the company, their growth is controlled through pruning and other techniques. Joshi said the initial results of the trial show that the per-acre yield can go up by 30-40 per cent.

The company is also working with Coca Cola as part of the ‘Unnati’ project to promote these methods among mango farmers in south India, mostly Andhra Pradesh. Jain Irrigation supplies mango pulps to Coca Cola for its Maaza drink.

Globally, Jain Irrigation has installed a few of these devices and technology at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines on a trial basis while it works with Japanese companies to promote this methodology in Japan as well. Talks are also on to start a trial in the US.

“Data analytics and their conversion into a good harvest should be adopted in a responsible manner,” said Vijay Sardana, an agricultural commodities' expert. “The government has distributed 220 million soil health cards. But there is no system of providing recommendations about irrigation needs, weather forecasts or even the possibility of harvests on the sown seeds. Thus, agri-technologies should be linked with responsible means of modern farming.”

Several other Indian and global drip irrigation companies are developing new technologies to address erratic and uneven rainfall and to manage ground water efficiently. Rivulis Irrigation, an Israel-based company has devised Manna, a satellite-based software solution to help farmers reduce their costs through water conservation and control of under- and over-irrigation.

The software leverages three types of data from multi-spectral satellite imagery, hyper-local and virtual-station weather services and crop models (for crop phenology stages). The Manna app provides crop and site-specific irrigation recommendations and historical, current and forecast weather conditions at the field level on a daily basis.

“Till now, there has not been a scientific approach towards irrigation on the right quantum of water and the right time for irrigation. Manna will help farmers forecast accurately their irrigation requirements, reduce losses, save costs and improve their yield,” said Kaushal Jaiswal, managing director, Rivulis Irrigation.

Jaiswal says that Indian farmers using this software have increased their yields by more than 15-20 per cent.

Initially, Rivulis is focusing on Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and parts of Tamil Nadu before moving to other leading agrarian markets. It will concentrate on cotton, sugarcane, pomegranate, grapes and tomatoes first.

In Mumbai, polymer company Emmbi Industries has come out with an innovative technology called 'Jalsanchay' under the brand name Avana. With this technology, you install PEL bottle type water storages between the two layers of plastic thin walls above ground in a pond, for water storage. This preserves water for one year.

“We have tied up with around 5,000 farmers in Maharashtra and have saved 200 billion litres of water so far, increasing farmers' income by an average 98.5 per cent," said Maithili Appalwar, CEO of Avana.

The government of Maharashtra has also tied up with Emmbi to expand its footprint across the state. Emmbi is a partner in the government's Jalyukt Shivar Yojana project.

Major agrarian states such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Gujarat have been experiencing uneven distribution of the monsoon, resulting in huge crop damage and output losses, even though the average rainfall is normal.

While drought damaged both the kharif and rabi crops last year, incessant rain has resulted in floods in almost all these states this year

AI in agricultureGiven the impressive track record, the future of this field seems promising

Artificial intelligence (AI) is making rapid inroads into the Indian farm sector. The ease with which farmers are adopting it indicates that it would soon become a major professional guide for the farmers. A key reason for the farmers’ growing interest in AI is the gradual transformation of traditional farming into smart agriculture which requires knowhow and information that goes beyond their conventional knowledge and wisdom. They now need reliable, forward-looking and problem-solving advice which they can get from the AI. Moreover, the rural youth, especially the educated ones, feel more comfortable with mechanised, technology-driven high-value agriculture than the tedious traditional knowledge-based routine farming practiced by their forefathers.

Mobile phones have penetrated deep into the rural areas. About 30 million farmers are estimated to own such phones already. Their count is projected to swell rapidly. The way has, thus, been paved for the AI service providers, such as public sector farm research organisations, information technology companies and startups in this field, to generate and pass on situation-specific and need-based contents to the farmers.

Microsoft is said to be working with Indian farmers in Andhra Pradesh to dispense advisory services in areas like crop sowing, land management, fertiliser application and similar others. The local arm of another multinational company, IBM India, last week signed a “statement of intent” with the agriculture ministry to take up a pilot project on the utilisation of AI and weather technology-driven solutions in agriculture. This project would operate in one district each of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

This apart, a large number of startups have come up to disseminate the next generation technologies in several critical fields of agriculture. Some of these enterprises are deploying sensors and information technology tools to monitor crop and soil health for the benefit of the farmers. Some others are engaged in generating data-based advisories on the time of sowing, besides issuing alerts against potential risks. Yet another category is of startups collecting, analysing and providing information on input supplies and output marketing chains.

Significantly, the agriculture ministry, as also the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the state farm universities, are putting in special efforts to popularise AI to improve productivity, production and profitability of farming. An inter-ministerial committee, set up by the agriculture ministry to suggest ways and means to double farmers’ income, has underscored the role the digital technology can play in making Indian agriculture lucrative. The technologies identified by this panel for this purpose include AI, big data analytics, block chain technology and internet-of-things (IoT).

The ICAR recently brought out a special edition of its popular publication “Indian Farming” (March 2019 issue) devoted exclusively to AI. This apex farm research body has been instrumental in developing over 100 easy-to-use and farmers-friendly mobile apps covering different areas of agriculture and its allied activities. Of these apps, 42 deal with mainstream agriculture, 27 with horticulture, 10 animal husbandry and veterinary sciences, six dairying, one poultry, three fisheries, 17 natural resource management and 11 integrated farming systems. They carry valuable information on agronomic practices, prices of different farm commodities, weather forecasts and warnings and other kinds of advisory information.

The “Kisan Suvidha” mobile app is a comprehensive portal carrying useful information on most aspects of modern farming. Its contents comprise weather-related information, including extreme weather alerts; market prices; plant protection methods; dealers of inputs like seeds, pesticides, fertilisers and farm machinery; soil health cards; cold stores and warehouses; and veterinary centres and diagnostic laboratories. The market intelligence available through this app contains vital information on the prevailing price and demand trends to let the farmers take informed decisions on selling their produce at the right time and at the right price. Another app, called “mKisan”, conveys agriculture-related counsel to the registered farmers through the short message service (SMS) and voice messages in local languages.

However, these are still early days of the application of AI in agriculture. But given the impressive track record, the future of this field seems quite promising.

Indian agri-tech start-ups got $248-mn funding in 2019, says NasscomThe report said there has been a 1.7-times increase in average farmer income in last decade

India currently hosts more than 450 start-ups in the agri-tech segment, and the sector has received more than $248 million funding in the first six months this year, IT industry body Nasscom said on Monday.

In a report titled 'Agritech in India Emerging Trends in 2019', Nasscom said that growing at 25 per cent year-on-year, India currently hosts more than 450 startups in the agri-tech sector.

"Over the recent years, the agri-tech sector in India has witnessed some of the global and sector-focused funds directly investing in agri-tech startups ... As of June 2019, the sector has received more than $248 million funding, a massive growth of 300 per cent as compared to the previous year," it said.

Interestingly, every ninth agri-tech startup in the world is originating from India.

The report said there has been a 1.7-times increase in average farmer income in last decade, enabling farmers to try new tech solutions.

More than 50 per cent of agri-tech startups offer supply chain solutions like market linkage, better access to inputs etc.

ALSO READ: How a Gurugram-based start-up converts air pollutants into ink and paint

"India's agriculture sector is advancing steadily towards its digital transformation and the startup ecosystem is playing a critical role here, bringing innovation and disruption in much-needed areas," Nasscom President Debjani Ghosh said.

Adoption of technology in agriculture has always needed a structured institutional focus and technology firms are trying to break into the agricultural landscape using newer business models, she added.

"The findings of the report are a testimony to the potential of the Agritech industry and the opportunities that India presents in the agriculture and farming landscape," Ghosh said.

The report said Indian companies are increasingly looking at global markets to expand with focus on regions like Southeast Asia, Europe, Africa and South America.

According to the report, in the last five years more than five global agri-tech companies have ventured in India, as compared to more than 25 Indian agri-tech startups with global presence.

Also, new emerging areas like market linkage, digital agriculture, better access to inputs, FaaS (functions-as-a-service) and financing are attracting large traction.

These technology adoptions are enabling numerous agri-tech startups to bring forth farming-related advanced technological mechanisms to help local farming become a sustainable and profit-yielding enterprise, it said.

The report pointed out that measures like setting up of micro-funds (ranging $2-14 million) to spur innovation, offering support in terms of incubation, acceleration, and catalytic funding, opening of incubation centres etc need to be implemented.

It is imperative that the ecosystem needs to focus towards driving innovation, data collaboration, easy working capital and providing digital infrastructure to enable real time access to farmers across the country.

Nasscom said it will continue its drive towards catalysing emerging tech startups, and work with the ecosystem to build category leaders and support startups to create not only for India, but also scale up and build for the world.

Engineering a makeover of Indian agricultureReforms that will increase farmers' incomes and generate rural employment are sorely needed

As the new government settles in, the sense one gets is that they want to hit the ground running. During the build-up to the election, the debate on agriculture had occupied centre stage and the media had extensively covered farmer distress, particularly on account of falling prices. Therefore the government needs to take on the challenges right away. The finance minister’s assertion, inviting suggestions from public is welcome, and reflects an open mind towards new ideas.

While some may argue that the Union Budget is about revenues and expenditure, in recent years it has also become a platform for making major policy announcements, agriculture being a prominent area. It is in this context that we hope to see reforms that will increase farmers’ incomes, generate rural employment and provide long-term stability to the agriculture sector. Let's look at some areas for intervention.

Unfortunately agriculture tends to fall between two stools as it is a state subject; but then so were indirect taxes. During the last NDA government, the Constitution was amended and a GST Council created representing both the Centre and the states. The then finance minister, Mr Arun Jaitley, was able to successfully navigate a complex subject through this mechanism. There is no reason why a similar framework cannot be created so that there is consistency in policy, and buy-in from all states.

Water is a big challenge staring at our face and two consecutive years of poor rains have driven home this point very strongly. Many canals have gone into disuse on account of poor maintenance and ground water is now available at new depths. The government must encourage efficient usage by charging for water and ensure reliable supplies. If a public-private partnership model has to be evolved, then that too must be looked at.

The pricing mechanism should be used to discourage excessive water usage, or else free electricity can result in pumps being run overnight, wasting large volumes of water. Correcting this anomaly will have ecological benefits and facilitate the much-needed crop diversification.

With regard to genetically modified crops, the government needs to take a stand in favour of science. Too many committees, panels and representations have unfortunately delayed the advent of new seeds. We must conduct proper trials as per the laid-down procedure and accord approvals based on the results. Price controls and bans on seeds only results in black-marketing and deprives the farmer of access to new technologies.

It is regrettable that the Indian farmer is deprived of progress through bio-technology, while the rest of the world moves ahead. Similarly, research and development by public institutions needs a sharper focus, in order to address new challenges being faced on account of climate change, water scarcity and labour shortages.

The food processing industry has played an important role in raising productivity and creating direct links with farmers. This is a mutually beneficial relationship, and we have seen many successful examples. Once the farmer is assured of a market, most of his worries are over. The farmer can then focus all his efforts on technology adoption and meeting quality standards.

Sugar, dairying, tomato processing, menthol, seed production and poultry are examples where industry intervention has made Indian agriculture globally competitive. This can be extended to other agricultural commodities, particularly fruit and vegetables. Foreign direct investment in organised retail needs to be encouraged, to shrink the chain between the farmer and the consumer. It will give a fillip to food processing and provide farmers with a higher share of retail prices.

The state governments need to play an important role and three aspects need to be addressed urgently. First, land fragmentation has made agriculture unviable, with low levels of technology adoption and inadequate capital investments. Consolidation of land with appropriate protection of ownership rights is the way forward. Much work has been already done on this subject and it is time to enact suitable legislation. Second, while agricultural extension networks of state governments have virtually collapsed, the inspector raj continues. There is a need to follow the simplification examples adopted by state governments for industry. Finally, the threat of the Essential Commodities Act needs to go, as it was relevant only in an era of shortages.

Ease of Doing Business has received much attention in the recent past, but this mantra has not spilled over to the agricultural field. Freeing agriculture markets from licensing, allowing land leasing, a stable trade policy, encouraging food processing, linking farmers with modern trade, encouraging use of biotech products in agriculture, rapid growth in non-agricultural jobs, and so on are still so much work in progress, and must remain on the radar of policymakers.

Is Subhash Palekar's zero budget natural farming solution to farm woes?As on date, ZBNF is being implemented in 131 clusters covering 704 villages under the Centre's Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana

Subhash Palekar and his Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) are again in the news.

The government’s Economic Survey of 2018-19 advocated it as a lucrative livelihood option for small farmers. A day after, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech on Friday, mentioned the method as one of the innovative models through which farmers’ income could be doubled by 2022.

ZBNF has been in practice for almost 10 years, in various forms. Japanese scientist and philosopher Masanobu Fukuoka first popularised natural farming, practising it in his family farm in Shikoku.

Natural farming is conceptually different from organic cultivation, though there are often mistaken as one and the same. Palekar’s effort popularised ZBNF in this country. It got a fillip in 2015, when the Andhra Pradesh government started a non-profit organisation to popularise it among farmers.

Called the Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (RySS), the non-profit body, with financial support from Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives (APPI) and the state government, got 138,000 farmers to do ZBNF. In two years, 150,000 acres were brought under the model.

Later, the farming practice spread to other parts of the country, largely due to the efforts of Palekar and his team. According to the 2018-19 Economic Survey, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh are the other states where this is gaining in popularity.

As on date, ZBNF is being implemented in 131 clusters covering 704 villages under the Centre’s Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana. And, 1,300 clusters covering 268 villages under the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana among 163,034 farmers, says the Survey.

In Himachal, officials say around 4,000 farmers are adopting the practice and the state is planning to become the first fully ZBNF-compliant state by 2022.

What exactly is ZBNF? According to a 2018 report from the Council for Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), done by Saurabh Tripathi, Shruti Nagbhushan and Tauseef Shahidi, it involves four components.

One, ‘beejamrutham’ or microbial coating of seeds using cow dung, and urine-based formulations. Two, ‘jeevamrutham’ or application of a concoction made with cow dung, cow urine, jaggery, pulse flour, water, and soil to multiply soil microbes. Three, mulching, or applying a layer of organic material to the soil surface, to prevent water evaporation and contribute to soil humus formation. Four, ‘waaphasa’ or soil aeration through a favourable micro climate in the soil.

For insect and pest management, ZBNF propagates the use of various decoctions made from cow dung, cow urine, lilac, and green chillies, called ‘kashyams’.

Is ZBNF beneficial? The CEEW study, done between 2016 and 2017, is based on crop-cutting experiments in 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh where ZBNF was being practiced, as part of the state government’s RySS. It found a sharp decline in input costs and improvement in yields among farmers who used the technique.

Clearly, Palekar and his technique has some takers. But, given the scale and size of India’s farm economy, does this technique have the capacity to spread across the country and deliver similar results in all agro-climatic conditions?

Though on-field studies are being conducted at various levels and in various universities, including by the official Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), to understand the methods, value and viability for farmers in various agro-climatic zones, none has reached any definite conclusion so far.

“The biggest threat to Indian tomato growers today is from a pest called ‘tuta absoluta’ which entered the country in 2015 and could wipe out entire fields in short time. Our studies have shown that there is just 5 per cent infestation of this deadly pest in fields which have used ZBNF, while in organic fields it is 60 per cent and in fields where chemical pesticides have been used, the incidence is 20 per cent, despite four-times application of harmful pesticide,” said Rajeshwar Singh Chandel, principal scientist at the state-run Dr YS Parmar, University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, Himachal Pradesh.

In the next two years, he said, there will be properly documented evidence, based on field studies, to show the impact of ZBNF on farmers’ fields, their incomes and yields.

Not all seem convinced. Mahendra Dev, director at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, said it could be difficult to replicate the model on a large scale. “It can be one of the models to double farmers’ income but not the only solution, as yield growth through ZBNF over a longer period of time in comparison to conventional methods isn’t known. More tests and studies in various agro-climatic zones need to be done before any firm plan is made for a nationwide push. Else, it could be counter-productive,” he said.

Ram Kaundinya, director-general of the Federation of Seed Industry of India, said there needed to be a scientific evaluation of the sustainability of ZBNF, on its impact on yields and whether it can be scaled up to cover 140 million farmers. “I am not saying it is bad or good but every technology has its own place where it gives best results. ZBNF has its own space but it needs to evaluated first, where it can be scaled up. Also, if this technique was so attractive, why it is confined to a few farmers for so long?” he asked.

Within the NITI Aayog, which has been championing the cause of ZBNF through its vice-chairman, Rajiv Kumar, there seem two distinct views on scalability and efficacy. While Kumar seems convinced about the beneficial impact of ZBNF, others differ.

ZBNF technique has been tested extensively and it does work, says PalekarThis technique can very much be scaled up and used by all farmers in India but it won't happen overnight

Subhash Palekar has been one of the oldest proponents of Zero Budget Natural Farming in India. He discusses techniques and their long-term impact on boosting crop yields and raising farm incomes, in an interview with Sanjeeb Mukherjee. Edited excerpts:

Could ZBNF be scaled up nationally? Questions are being raised on the technique’s efficacy.

I don’t know who is questioning the efficacy of ZBNF and its potential to be scaled up. This technique can very much be scaled up and used by all farmers in India but it won’t happen overnight or in the next two years. It will take time.

Five years back, Prime Minister Modi assured farmers of doubling their income by 2022. He gave this assurance with the hope that agricultural scientists would develop such techniques. In the past five years, has any scientist developed a single such technique?

It was then that NITI Aayog, under instruction from the PM, started looking for technologies through which this could be done, and simultaneously reduce global warming. And, zeroed in on ZBNF. When the whole world is looking to reduce its carbon footprint, who wants to increase the same by spreading the use of chemical farming in India?

There are complaints that farmers who adopted ZBNF reverted to conventional farming, as the returns weren’t good enough after the first few years.

Absolutely wrong. Anyone who has adopted my technique starts getting a return which is higher than in organic farming methods and much more than chemical-based farming, from the first year itself. There are models running in various places which are showing such returns and are sustainable.

If your technique is so good, why hasn’t it been adopted so far by significant numbers of farmers?

What is the way out if we need to double our production, as population is increasing but availability of land is limited? Farmers are actually leaving farming, as chemical farming is not remunerative. More, who would want to die due to cancer or diabetes by eating chemicals-laced food? All these problems are due to the poisonous food we eat. The solution to all these lies in natural farming.

There are questions on ZBNF. Many say proper studies haven’t been done on the technique and its efficacy in various agro-climatic zones.

All those spreading these rumours should be sent to GB Pant University of Agriculture & Technology in Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) or Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University, Palampur. Or the ICAR, where a lot of works and field studies covering all aspects are being done on ZBNF. We have scientific evidence of the efficacy of this technique for all farmers.

Your expectations from the central government, now that there seems to be all-round interest in this technique?

Well, the government can’t make a law to force people to adopt ZBNF. This is a democracy. What the government will do is that it will offer this technique as an alternative to farmers, compared to organic farming and chemical farming. Then, it is up to the farmers to see which is most beneficial for them.

Revamp rainfed farmingThe focus of agricultural research and development programmes needs to shift towards rainfed lands that harbour the bulk of rural poverty

Look at the dimensions of India’s unirrigated or rain-dependent agriculture sector.

· About 52 per cent of the total cropland is unirrigated and relies primarily on rainfall for farming.

· Over 60 per cent farmers cultivate crops without irrigation.

· Between 55 and 60 per cent of the gross domestic product of the ‘agriculture and allied activities’ (agri-GDP) comes from rainfed lands.

· Nearly 90 per cent millets (jowar, bajra, ragi and others), 85 per cent pulses, 70 per cent oilseeds and 40 per cent rice is grown in unirrigated fields.

· About 65 per cent cattle, 75 per cent sheep and 80 per cent goats are maintained by rain-supported farmers.

Such a gigantic segment of agriculture has, regrettably, not received due attention in the development process. The bulk of the investment and promotional effort has gone to water-based farming. The overriding priority to irrigated agriculture was understandable in the beginning of the green revolution. The precarious ship-to-mouth existence for meeting food needs at that time necessitated concentration of efforts and resources to areas having potential for quick breakthrough in production. But sticking to the same strategy even after becoming surplus in foodgrains is hard to justify.

The net result of this discrimination is that the average crop yield in the rain-dependent tracts has remained meagre 1.1 tonne a hectare while it has jumped to above 2.8 tonnes in irrigated areas. The progressive farmers generally harvest four to six tonnes of grains per hectare of irrigated land. The rainfed areas have also been overlooked in providing supportive services, notably marketing support, jeopardising their economic viability. Only 20-30 per cent income of the

rain-reliant farmers comes from crop cultivation. The rest is from livestock husbandry and other means, including non-farm employment.

In contrast, the farmers tilling irrigated lands earn about 60 per cent of their income from the crops segment alone.

Unsurprisingly, the green revolution has remained confined largely to the irrigated crops of wheat, rice, sugarcane and a few others. The predominantly dryland crops, such as oilseeds, pulses and coarse grains, including the highly nutritious millets, have not gained much from it. This cannot be allowed to continue any longer. The focus of agricultural research and development programmes needs to shift towards rainfed lands which harbour the bulk of rural poverty.

The areas having large and contiguous dry-farming tracts are well known. Most of these are located in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, central Rajasthan, Saurashtra region of Gujarat and some parts of the Western Ghats, mainly the rain-shadow areas of the Ghats. Many other states, too, have large chunks of unirrigated lands.

These rainfed territories typically have marginal and small landholdings; eroded, degraded and low fertility soils; poor quality or inaccessible groundwater; and inadequate infrastructure. The farmers in these tracts are generally cash starved and old because the youth usually migrate to other areas. The agro-ecological conditions of these tracts vary considerably and are gradually exacerbating due to climate change. These tracts, therefore, need area-specific strategies to ameliorate agriculture.

Several valuable suggestions to revamp rainfed farming emerged from the fourth international conference on ‘soil and water resources management for climate smart agriculture’ held recently in New Delhi. Significant among these include conservation of water where it falls and promotion of appropriate integrated farming systems, rather than crop farming alone. The farming systems for rainfed areas need to combine crops with trees, livestock, fisheries, beekeeping and others to harness their synergies. Such systems automatically hedge weather and price risks. At least some ventures would yield incomes even during adversities.

Incentivising formation of farmers’ producers companies can help to procure inputs and sell the output at the best prices.

These bodies can also facilitate induction of new technology and mechanisation of key farm operations to improve their efficiency. However, none of these measures can prove effective without adequate backing from the farm research centres in terms of situation-specific technologies for higher production at lower costs to make rainfed farming profitable.

Email:surinder.sud@gmail.com

After kharif season loss, abundant late monsoon gives farmers hopeFor millions of farmers in northern, central and western India, the excessive rain this monsoon season did aggravate problems but have also given hope of a good rabi harvest

Anil Goswami, a 45-year-old farmer from Budhni, near Bhopal, shifted from soybean to maize a few years earlier, in the hope of getting better returns.

He did finally make good money as the overall market was favourable for maize, except for a few seasons. In the earlier kharif season (2018), maize was selling at a little over Rs 22 a kg, making it a valuable crop for farmers. Encouraged, Goswami decided to expand his sowing, taking some land on lease.

However, relentless rain over recent months have dashed his hopes. His standing maize crop was extensively damaged and price realisation was hit due to excessive moisture in the final produce.

A worried Goswami has now pinned all hope on the coming rabi crop of wheat, which he plans to grow on the entire land parcel (owned plus leased). “I have suffered losses in maize. My hopes are on the coming wheat crop,” he told this correspondent over the telephone from Budhni.

Since the region is noted for its high-quality ‘durum’ wheat, Goswami hopes the rabi harvest will help him recoup some of the earlier loss. For, he notes, the excess rains, coupled with delayed departure of the southwest monsoon, have left considerable moisture in the soil. This will reduce the dependence on irrigation to grow the wheat, lowering production cost.

For millions of farmers like Goswami in northern, central and western India, the excessive rain this monsoon season did aggravate problems but have also given hope of a good rabi harvest -- if the weather in the coming months remains benign.

The late sowing of rabi crops due to a delayed kharif harvest could compensate for the earlier loss if yields are good. Wheat is the biggest rabi crop, followed by mustard, chana (chickpea) and masur dal (red lentil).

Most of the crop grown in the rabi season is in irrigated areas. A good southwest monsoon ensures enough in the reservoirs and in groundwater reserves. An India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast says soil moisture levels in central and north India are expected to remain stable in November, which should aid the planting of rabi crops.

According to a report in Telangana, average groundwater levels in the state rose by 4.7 metres in September from pre-monsoon levels. It was 14.56 metres below ground level (mbgl) in May, and 9.85 mbgl in September.

A good rabi harvest could also ensure a pick-up in farm growth, which had slumped in real terms to two per cent in the first quarter of the 2019-20 financial year, from 5.1 per cent during the same period last year.

“The excess rains in this monsoon season, followed by strong post-monsoon showers, bode well for the rabi crop, be it wheat, mustard and chana. Even onions and potatoes will be positively impacted by this,” says Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at CARE Ratings.

Anticipating a healthy rabi harvest, he feels India’s agriculture and allied activities' Gross Value Added for 2019-20 will settle at 2.5-3 per cent. In 2018-19, it was estimated at 2.9 per cent.

The latest estimate for foodgrain production in the 2019 kharif season is expected to be only 0.8 per cent lower than last year, at 140.57 million tonnes. Sowing was on 106.27 million hectares in 2019, only 0.5 per cent lower than last year.

Bumper monsoon

The June to September rainfall this year was 10 per cent above average in the country, highest in the past 25 years, says IMD. The country got more rain than this year back in 1994, again around 110 per cent above the average during the southwest monsoon season.

Till September 30 this year, India got 968.3 millimetres of rain, as against a normal 880.6 mm. Of the 36 meteorological subdivisions, 19 had excess rain and 12 normal rain; five were deficient.

It was also the first time since 1931 that the southwest monsoon was excess after rainfall in June was declared more than 30 per cent deficient. And, the first time after 2010 that rainfall in July, August and September were all above average.

The good rain boosted kharif sowing, which till the end of June was looking down, due to a 33 per cent below-average rainfall. After pounding the country and causing some damage to the standing kharif crop, the monsoon finally retreated in late October, making it one of the slowest withdrawals since the 1960s.

If that wasn’t enough, post-monsoon rain has been extremely good as well. According to IMD, between October 1 and 29, the country had 41 per cent more rain, also among the best in recent times. Several parts of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala continued to get plenty of rain in October, though the monsoon had officially retreated.

On the negative side, reports say heavy post-monsoon showers in Maharashtra's Akola district have destroyed 170,000 hectares of soybean, 9,512 hectares of sorghum and 150,000 hectares of the cotton crop.

Reservoirs

Another major factor that should aid in a good rabi harvest is the water levels in major reservoirs. As on October 24, the live storage capacity of 120 monitored by the Central Water Commission was a combined 170.32 billion cubic metres or 127 per cent of both last year’s and of the past 10 years' average. The level is 66 per cent of the live capacity of these reservoirs. Augusring well for both the rabi harvest and power supply.

In comparison, at June-end, when the monsoon was over 30 per cent below average, water levels in the reservoirs had dipped to 16 per cent of live capacity. A pick-up in sowing, which showed a surprise increase in September, would also help improve the employment scenario in rural India. The unemployment rate fell from 8.2 per cent in August to 7.2 per cent in September, according to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy. Most of this was due to jobs created in rural India, on the back of a good monsoon. A similar trend is likely in the coming rabi season as well, which could re-start the consumption story.

"In 2009 (a drought year), too, kharif crops were impacted due to delayed rains but the same late rains helped rabi crops. So, the overall impact on agricultural growth wasn't much and rabi saved the day. A similar situation could happen in 2019-20," said Mahendra Dev, Director of the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research in Mumbai.

Continuous MSP hike, oversupply in world market dent India's farm exportsBetween FY13 and FY19, the government of India raised MSP of various agricultural commodities by 40-70 per cent

At a time when global agricultural commodity prices have been on the decline due to oversupply, the sustained increase in the minimum support price (MSP) by the Indian government has over-priced the country's agricultural commodities in the world market, reducing India’s competitiveness in farm exports. Between FY13 and FY19, the government of India raised MSP of various agricultural commodities by 40-70 per cent.

Going by World Bank's latest commodity outlook which states that global farm prices are expected to remain weak for some more time, exporters of agro commodities have no respite in near future. RCEP-type agreements will only dampen the prospects of increasing farm exports further, because they may open up floodgates for imports.

Data compiled by the Ministry of Commerce showed India’s overall exports of agricultural commodities stood at $28.62 billion for the financial year ended in March 2019. Exports did improve a bit from the low base, but were still lower by 13 per cent compared to the peak seen in FY14. And in current year, the downward trend has continued.

For the period between April and September 2019, India’s exports of farm produce declined by 4.8 per cent to $12.86 billion from $13.79 billion last year.

"In a globalised economy and in a scenario in which the government of India going ahead with negotiations on various free trade agreements (FTAs) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreements, the role of MSP has become meaningless, because if the international market offers a product at a price lower than India’s MSP, traders would import instead of buying from the local farmer. As a result, India’s export opportunity would reduce going forward as a continuous hike in MSP would make India’s agricultural commodities over-priced in the world market,” said Vijay Sardana, an expert on agriculture and food sectors.

Bulk consumers of commodities like maize and wheat in southern India have started importing to meet their demand as sourcing from local farmers has become costly. Juice makers have also started importing raw material.

"Therefore, the government must keep international prices in mind before fixing the MSP of any agricultural products. Otherwise, consumers will get imported products and farmers will be forced to sell at reduced prices in order to survive. This will hurt their livelihood, welfare and health," said Sardana.

Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist, also believes that the increase in MSP will hit the exports of some commodities.

Meanwhile, a recently released World Bank report forecasts greater downward pressure on commodity prices, with stock levels hitting a multi-year high. Most agricultural commodity prices appear to have stabilised recently. The report further states that the high stock levels for some grains such as rice and wheat, favourable weather conditions in key producing regions, ongoing trade tensions, low energy costs, and weakening demand for some commodities would continue to weigh on prices.

In fact, the World Bank’s Agricultural Price Index declined nearly 2 per cent in July–September 2019 and stands 3.3 per cent lower than a year ago. Most sub-indexes declined in the quarter. Prices are projected to fall nearly 5 per cent in 2019 and to stabilize in 2020—a sharp downward revision of the April forecast of two per cent each year. Most of the risks are downside and emanate primarily from protracted trade tensions and lower input costs.

“Prices of some agricultural commodities such as soybeans and corn may improve if there is the resolution of trade tensions,” said Ayhan Kose, Director of the World Bank’s Prospects Group.

Why children of farmers in India are less likely to take up farmingFor the first time since Independence, India saw a shift of surplus labour from agriculture to the non-agricultural sectors

Although income mobility improved country-wide in the seven years to 2012, the progress was unequal between states, while the likelihood of children pursuing the same occupation as their fathers declined for those employed in the low productivity agricultural sector, noted a January 2019 study on economic mobility.

Farmers’ children were 21.1 percentage points less likely to take up farming in 2012 than in 2005, their likelihood down to 32.4%, while the children of agricultural and other labourers were 4.1 percentage points less likely to pursue the same occupation as their fathers, the likelihood, 58.6%, the study noted.

For the first time since Independence, India saw a shift of surplus labour from agriculture to the non-agricultural sectors, as employment in agriculture fell in absolute numbers, Divya Prakash, co-author of the study and a research associate at JustJobs Network told IndiaSpend.

Reduced employment in agriculture can largely be explained by the fact that more young people are acquiring an education, and with it comes the expectation of a better job, Sabina Dewan, co-author of the study, and president and executive director of JustJobs Network, told IndiaSpend, “The quality of jobs is as important as the quantity of jobs."

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The study examined the evolution of the international discourse on job quality and economic mobility, the “missing ingredient” in the discourse on job quality.

It used the Indian Human Development Survey (IHDS-I), a nationally representative survey of 41,554 households conducted in 2004-2005, and IHDS-II (2011-12), which re-interviewed 83% of the same households.

“This dataset provides a unique opportunity to study whether economic mobility improved over 2005-2012,” the study noted.

Fewer farmers’ children taking to farming

The intergenerational mobility index,which measures the likelihood of children pursuing the same occupation as their fathers, showed that the likelihood declined for agricultural and other labourers from 62.7% to 58.6%, and from 53.5% to 32.4% for farmers.

“During [2005-2012], for the first time in a post-Independence era, India saw a Lewisian structural change--shift of surplus labour from agricultural to non-agricultural sector--as employment in the agricultural sector fell in absolute numbers,” said Prakash. “There was a decline in the share of children following in their fathers’ footsteps; many left agriculture or other rural labour and farming-related occupations moving into the non-agricultural sector.”

This means that children moved out of agriculture to non-agricultural sectors, especially construction, for higher wages. A;though there was intergenerational income mobility, there was no evidence for upward intergenerational occupational mobility for children-fathers of both occupational groups, he added.

Seventy-six percent of farmers would prefer to do some work other than farming and 61% would prefer to be employed in cities because of better education, health and employment avenues, Down To Earth reported on March 12, 2018, based on a survey report by the Centre for Study of Developing Societies.

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India’s fast-expanding gig economy, involving app-based cab hailing and food delivery services, employs many workers who hail from rural or semi-urban homes, many of them either farmers or children of farmers, IndiaSpend reported on June 4, 2019.

According to the National Sample Survey, between 2004-05 and 2011-12, the number of farmers in rural areas fell by 19 million to 141 million and the number of landless labourers declined 19% to 69 million, Prakash added.

Yet, the number of people working as professionals (scientists, economists, teachers, jurists, etc.) whose parents were low-skilled workers (launderers, carpenters, miners, painters, etc.) declined by 8%, while their share in low-skilled occupations increased by the same amount.

This implies that opportunities for “upward mobility are few and [those] for backward mobility are very high,” said Prakash. Persons from upper castes and urban regions have a higher probability of moving up in terms of occupation and vice-versa.

Meanwhile, the number of people who followed their fathers into professions and lower-skilled occupations increased 3.1 percentage points and 8.1 percentage points, respectively.

Improvement in real income between 2005 and 2012

The non-directional income mobility index, which measures the magnitude of income change, is 1.165 for India as a whole, while the directional mobility index is 0.949--both over the period 2004-05 to 2011-12. The positive index value for directional mobility implies that real income has increased, indicating improved economic well-being.

Every state in India has witnessed positive income mobility, although the change has been “unequal”, the study noted. Tamil Nadu and Meghalaya have witnessed the highest income mobility, in that order.

Income mobility was positive for the three north-eastern states (Mizoram, Sikkim, Tripura) but low in magnitude. The proportion of households here that saw their overall household income decline was higher than the proportion of households that experienced an increase, Prakash said, adding that this is why overall income mobility was unequal. The overall household income of these three states was marginally higher in 2012 compared to 2005, said Prakash.

The difference between the indexes (0.216) shows that there are a number of households that have seen their real income--income after considering the effects of inflation--decrease.

Among social groups, upward movement in income is the highest among Other Backward Class (OBC) households, followed by forward castes, Brahmins, Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST).

Marginalised caste groups such as the SC, ST and OBC earn much less than the national household income, IndiaSpend reported on January 14, 2019.

Yet, in real terms, these social groups saw an improvement in their income levels in the seven years to 2012, showing that although disparity is wide, the gap is closing, Dewan said

Reviving rural youth's interest in agricultureThey need conveniently usable technologies that ensure higher productivity and income, at reduced cost

Consider these:

· A large part of investment in agriculture in past decades has gone to irrigation. Yet, there hardly is any increase in the net irrigated area.

· The flow of institutional credit to agriculture has more than tripled in a decade or so. But the number of borrowers has not increased much. The bulk of the farmers’ credit needs are still met through informal sources, including usurious moneylenders.

· Production of foodgrains, milk, horticultural products and fish has been surging consistently. Yet, India continues to score poorly on global hunger index. It ranked 100th among 119 in the 2017 index, slipping three positions from 97th in 2016. About one-fourth of the world’s undernourished and hungry people live in India.

· The government supplies heavily subsidised grains to nearly two-thirds of the population under the National Food Security Act. Yet, malnutrition is rampant, manifested in poor health and stunted growth of children.

· Minimum support prices (MSPs) of crops are hiked generously every year. Yet, the farmers’ income is not rising. Worse still, the gap between farm and non-farm incomes is widening.

· Payback from investment in agricultural research and development is reckoned to be higher than that from most other technology-dependent sectors. Yet, not even one per cent of the agriculture sector’s gross domestic product (agri-GDP) is spent on farm research. A sizable part of the technology generated by agricultural research centres, too, does not reach the farmers.

· The share of agriculture and allied activities in gross capital formation, which was 18 per cent in the early 1980s, has plunged to between six and eight per cent in recent years.

· Over 2,000 farmers are, on average, exiting farming daily for last 20 years. Going by the Census data, the total count of farmers (depending solely on agricultural income) declined from 110 million in 1991 to 103 million in 2001 and to mere 95.8 million in 2011.

These are grim pointers to what went wrong with agriculture and why. Clearly, the policies and programmes for agricultural development have neither been formulated judiciously nor executed meticulously. Sadly, the fault lines are continuing unabated till today.

Agriculture is treated virtually as a means to meet the growing and changing consumer demands for farm goods with an eye on managing inflation. Hardly has any attempt been made to safeguard the interests of the producers vis-à-vis those of the consumers.

Economic and structural reforms that began in 1991 have also bypassed this sector for all practical purposes. The signs of farmers’ discontent, marked by their suicides, have been visible since the early 2000s. But these were, by and large, ignored till the rural unrest spilled over in the form of farmers’ agitations.

“How long will the farm sector (farming and farmers) be neglected and denied social growth?” This pointed question is posed by the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) in a policy paper issued recently. The Academy maintains that sustained growth with social justice, and not just growth, should be the basis to determine priorities, programmes and resource allocation for economic development. It has called for bridging rural-urban divide to forestall massive out-migration from villages.

The NAAS paper, entitled “Mismatch between policies and development priorities in agriculture”, also offers some other worth-considering suggestions to mitigate the farm sector’s woes. A significant one among these is to target unirrigated, ecologically marginal and agriculturally backward areas — the worst victims of neglect till now — for disseminating improved technology and developing market infrastructure. This would help raise production, boost farm income and reduce regional disparities.

Revival of rural youth’s interest in agriculture and its allied fields is imperative to ensure sustained growth of scientific agriculture. They need conveniently usable technologies which can ensure higher productivity and income at reduced costs. Also needed is a massive skill development programme with emphasis on income generation in non-farm rural sector to help farmers supplement their earnings. Otherwise, the farmers’ distress and the farm sector’s plight may continue to worsen.

' high-powered panel on farm for linking central grants with reformsIt would also find ways in which investment credit in the agriculture sector could be made cheaper to encourage private sector investments

o push growth in the farm sector, a high-powered panel of chief ministers on Thursday proposed the Centre to link grants and allocations made by the Finance Commission to states with reforms in the sector. It also asked the government to work towards re-orienting subsidies in a targeted manner from the crop sector to the non-crop sector and redesign the electronic National Agriculture Market (eNaM).

The panel also decided to look into whether the food sector could be taken off the ambit of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, or how to avoid instances when the Act can be triggered.

It would also find ways in which investment credit in the agriculture sector could be made cheaper to encourage private sector investments.

“In the case of eNaM, it was felt that though it is a good initiative, not all states have adopted it as there are some teething problems which will be addressed in consultation with the states. In the case of the Essential Commodities Act, a common view was that it is sometimes detrimental to farmers getting a good price for their produce,” Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told reporters after the maiden meeting of the High-Powered Committee of Chief Ministers for Transformation of Indian Agriculture.

Fadnavis heads the panel, which also comprises of Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, his Haryana and Madhya Pradesh counterparts Manohar Lal Khattar and Kamal Nath, respectively, among others.

The proposal on linking central grants and the Finance Commission’s transfers to agriculture reforms was also discussed in the meeting.

"Grants of the central government and fund allocation of the Finance Commission should be linked with agricultural reforms undertaken in states," said Fadnavis, adding that it is essential to ensure simultaneous reforms in states.

“Kamal Nath was in favour of scrapping the Essential Commodity Act,” he said. Nath also called upon the Union government to work towards the elimination of non-tariff barriers in exporting countries.

Fadnavis said a mechanism would also be developed at both commerce and agriculture ministries to accurately forecast domestic and global demand and supply, based on which sowing and harvest decisions would be made.

The panel also discussed ways to promote the food processing industry.

“There was a proposal to decentralise food processing activities,” said Fadnavis, as he stressed the need for boosting private investment in the agriculture sector and promoting contract farming.

Fadnavis said the committee has finalised terms of reference (ToR), and states have been asked to give their feedback by August 7. The panel will again meet on August 16.

Rupani in his address said the criteria to calculate a farmer's income should be based on his/her profit and by changing the role of markets, benefiting farmers would be easier

How to beat climate change? Lessons from 'progressive farmers' of KarnatakaFrom growing two or more crops together to switching to organic farming, a couple in Karnataka have found ways to cope with climate change and maintain profit

Kalaburagi district (Karnataka): “Year by year, the quantity of rainfall is decreasing,” said Shyamrao Patil, 55, a lungi-clad, generously mustachioed wiry farmer who has learned to read the changing seasons and–most importantly–adapt to them in a country where climate change has started affecting the livelihoods of a fifth of the population, or 263 million people, that depends on farming.

Here in the pigeon-pea (tur dal) bowl of Karnataka, Patil and his wife Laxmibai, 50, grow a variety of crops as one bet against climate change in an area where farming risks include water scarcity, increasingly erratic rain, rising temperatures and decreasing soil quality, we found in a 2018 study of 419 farm households. Further, 91% of farmers surveyed in Kalaburagi reported a decrease in rainfall over a decade to 2016, and 61% reported regular scarcities of water for farming, we found across four blocks in this arid, poor northern Karnataka district where several human-development indicators match those in India’s poorest state, Bihar.

Patil and his wife–both have studied till class three, in a district with a literacy rate of 65%, lower than many Bihar districts–represent communities in India’s drylands who have a history of coping with and planning for climatic risks. Some examples: Water harvesting in Rajasthan and tank irrigation across South India.

Diversifying risk, investing in machines to process some of their crops, utilising government subsidies and participating in collective efforts to market crops and store water–these are some of the techniques the Patils have learned and now teach others. They offer a template that could be used in many parts of India in an age of shrinking landholdings, growing water scarcity, climate change and agrarian distress.

To capture similar examples of bottom-up solutions to the constraints farming faces today, we studied eight progressive farmers in Gulbarga and Kolar districts in Karnataka, all recognised as “progressive farmers” by the state government and, as we argue, are champions of sustainable farming practices that hold lessons for building climate resilience -- or the ability to manage change, reduce disruptions and enhance opportunities.

From fires in Greece to flooding in Laos and heatwaves in Japan, the effects of climate change are widespread. Closer home, a July 2018 World Bank report warned that climate change will lower the standards of living of nearly half of India's population by 2050.

These changes are already being felt in India's semi-arid regions, which have expanded by 10% in recent decades. These regions include swathes of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu that are home to India’s most vulnerable people.

In addition to the impacts of climate change, rural India is witnessing growing agrarian distress despite bountiful harvests, as  IndiaSpend reported in June 2017. Caught between fluctuating market prices and growing indebtedness, many farmers regard agriculture as an unviable livelihood: A fourth of 50,000 farmers surveyed nationwide said they would quit farming, if they had an option, according to this February 2017 study.

How then can governments and development agencies encourage farmers to invest in their land, and–most importantly–help farmers adapt to a changing climate? Some answers are available in Kalaburagi and the life of the Patils.

In a dry land, diversifying crops, saving water

Nearly three times as large as Goa or a fourth as large as the Netherlands, Kalaburagi, formerly called Gulbarga, is a drought-prone region that receives an average rainfall of 842 mm annually–the Karnataka average is 1,248 mm–with temperatures varying from 45°C in the summer to 10-15°C in winter.

Farms in the tur dal bowl of Karnataka now face rising winter temperatures and erratic rainfall.

Kalaburagi is a drought-prone region that receives an average rainfall of 842 mm annually–the Karnataka average is 1,248 mm–with temperatures varying from 45°C in the summer to 10-15°C in winter.

 

Farms in the tur dal bowl of Karnataka now face rising winter temperatures and erratic rainfall.

Although Shyamrao owns two borewells, he rarely uses them because they only have about 5 cm of water. He is aware that water needs careful management. “If we withdraw water from the ground, there won’t be any left,” he said. “We also need to let the earth drink water.”

Shyamrao has discussed a collective effort with other farmers to store water by constructing farm ponds and check dams. Karnataka is a pioneer in community watershed development and deploys government programmes, such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme -- the world’s largest make-work project–to drought-proof farms.

 

 For a smallholder farmer in water-scarce, rain-fed conditions–no more than 17% of farmland in Kalaburagi is irrigated; the Indian average is 58%–innovating is a challenge, but that is what the Patils have done on their farm of 3.5 acres, not much larger than the Indian norm: Nearly 85% of working farms are smaller than two hectares, according to 2013 National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) data, the latest available.

Shyamrao and Laximibai use what is called a mixed-cropping system–growing two or more crops together to confer ecological benefits–to grow tur dal, onions, wheat, jowar, groundnut, sesame, tamarind, mangoes and curry leaves. They also run a dairy and poultry farm with eight cows, 150 chickens and 28 goats. Their annual income reaches Rs 500,000, of which Rs 250,000 is the estimated profit.

In 2007, the Patils–instead of selling their produce to middlemen–invested in mini tur dal mill after consulting Kalaburagi agriculture department officers, who also helped them with a government subsidy. The mini dal mill allows them to process raw tur into dal to make sambar. They have also purchased shavige (rice vermicelli) machines, which lets them make rice noodles (used for breakfast) that are then sold to their neighbours.

 

Such subsidies, said Shyamrao, are “very useful” for small landholders like him and critical to those who do not have extra cash to invest in post-harvest infrastructure. The dal machine, for instance, allows the Patils to sell powdered tur at Rs 140 per kg in markets across Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat–the raw tur sells for Rs 100 per kg in Kalaburagi.

They have also learned to work with others like them. The Patils are one of 13 members of Bhagyavanthi Sangha, a self-help group from their village that allows them to sell their tur and green gram in places as distant as Madhya Pradesh, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Delhi.

The value of collaboration, peer-to-peer learning

Shyamrao grew up watching his mother, also a farmer, using synthetic fertilisers on their 8-acre farm but observed that increases in yield were not substantial. He switched from conventional, chemical farming to organic farming on the 3.5 acres he inherited. His decision to switch to organic farming occurred after he attended a training programme organised near his village in 1997. That’s where he learned about the benefits of organic farming.

 

A mixture of compost and black soil in the Patils’ fields. Shyamrao Patil switched from conventional, chemical farming to organic farming on the 3.5 acres he inherited after he attended a training programme organised near his village in 1997.

 

Eager to try it, Shyamrao sought help from NGO workers, who in turn sent him earthworms accessed through the agriculture department. Gradually, the Patils began moving to organic farming. In the, first year, nearly two decades ago, they mixed diammonium phosphate (DAP), a widely used fertiliser, and vermicompost in equal measure. In the second year, they mixed half a bag of DAP with one bag of vermicompost; in the third year, 10 kg of chemical fertiliser and three bags of vermicompost; by the fourth year, only five sacks of vermicompost were used and no chemical fertiliser.

“I did not give up on using chemical fertiliser all of a sudden,” said Shyamrao. “I left it stage by stage. Although the yields went down at first, they improved and have increased now.”

 

Shyamrao Patil watering his vermicompost pits. The Patils began moving to organic farming gradually. In the, first year, nearly two decades ago, they mixed diammonium phosphate and vermicompost in equal measure. By the fourth year, only five sacks of vermicompost were used and no chemical fertiliser.

 

DAP use has dropped and vermicomposting has increased around his village, said Shyamrao, an observation confirmed by the Samata Loka Shikshan Samiti (Equal World Education Board), an NGO in Aland Gulbarga. He has trained about 150 other farmers through the Samiti and other NGOs, such as MYRADA. We observed that the experiences of progressive farmers, such as the Patils, are powerful triggers for others to follow suit and further spread knowledge. In 2000, Shyamrao and Laxmibai set up their own farmer group called Punyakoti, comprising 15 farmers from their village; they meet regularly and make sales for their produces such as tur dal and green gram.

Of the 419 households we polled, 12% mention that they accessed information provided by the Krishi Vigyaan Kendra, a farm knowledge centre run by the government, in Kalaburagi; 85% of these found the information to be satisfactory. It is significant that 85% of the households depend on family or neighbours, 1% on government, 1% on politicians and 2.5% on NGOs/community groups in times of distress.

The Patils are now key facilitators in the exchange of knowledge among farmers who are willing to try new methods. Shyamrao also helps other farmers secure financial support. He has helped five farmers in his village to get loans worth Rs 250,000.

Recognition and reward

For their efforts to demonstrate thriving agricultural practices despite scarce water, in 2008-09, the Patils were awarded the Krishi Pandit Prashasthi (progressive farmer award) for organic and integrated farming, given every year for the last 18 years by the Karnataka government. The award is one of 30 that the Patils have received.

Shyamrao and his wife have built social networks and helped these networks–as we said–access technical know-how and financial support in the form of subsidies. They have also innovated by changing their farming practices to make them more sustainable, diverse, and remunerative, thereby climate-proofing their livelihood.

The Patils are an example of how a mix of state support, NGO action, and farmer innovation can drive bottom-up solutions that are adaptive, sustainable, and–importantly–financially viable.

(Greeshma Hegde and Chandni Singh are part of the climate change team at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), Bangalore. They work on issues of climate change adaptation, migration and livelihood shifts and are currently part of a multinational, long-term project across India and Africa called Adaptation at Scale in Semi-arid Regions)

Solutions to India's growing malnutrition issue? Replace rice with cerealsReplacing rice with a more nutrient-rich or water-efficient crop would marginally improve the production of protein (1%) but considerably increase the production of iron and zinc, by 27% and 13%

India could reduce the water it uses for irrigation by a third and simultaneously address its persistent malnutrition problem, if it replaced its rice crop with more nutritious and less thirsty cereals, a study of irrigation-water use over 43 years has found.

Of the cereals grown in India, rice consumes the most water per tonne of output while delivering the least nutrients–iron, zinc and protein–according to the study published in Science Advances, a global science journal. The suggested replacements for rice are maize, finger millet, pearl millet and sorghum, all of which consume less water per tonne and are more nutritious.

In a first, scientists juxtaposed this potential water-saving from an alternative cropping pattern with the nutritional gains that would follow from growing more nutrient-dense and less water-intensive cereals. Replacing rice with a more nutrient-rich or water-efficient crop would marginally improve the production of protein (1%) but considerably increase the production of iron and zinc, by 27% and 13%, respectively.

These findings are significant considering that India today faces the worst water crisis in its history and continues to battle iron and zinc deficiencies.

The study, ‘Alternative cereals can improve water use and nutrient supply in India’, was published on July 4, 2018.

Twenty-one Indian cities will run out of groundwater by 2020, the NITI Aayog, the government’s policy think-tank, predicted last month, as IndiaSpend reported on June 25, 2018.

While the common belief is that urbanisation and industrialisation are the reasons for the falling groundwater levels across India, over nine-tenths of groundwater is extracted for irrigation, IndiaSpend reported in November 2016.

Roughly one-third (34%) of the 632 cubic kilometre (cu km) of water that India used to grow cereals in 2009 came from various irrigation sources, the new study said. Rainfall accounted for the rest.

While India is food secure today, the new study showed that this achievement has come at the cost of water security, and has failed to substantially improve Indians’ nutrition status, particularly iron and zinc sufficiency.

Just over half (53%) of Indian women of reproductive age (15 to 49 years) were estimated to be anaemic–a result of iron deficiency–in the fourth National Family Health Survey of 2015-16, IndiaSpend reported in November 2017. More than a third of the Indian population is zinc-deprived, we reported in September 2017.

Now it appears a solution is at hand to reverse these deficiencies while achieving water security and livelihood security for farmers. “A massive win-win” is how Mihir Shah, economist, former member of the Planning Commission and co-founder of water and livelihood security initiative Samaj Pragati Sahayog, described the cropping change solution. 

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Using less water for irrigation is key to environmental sustainability

India’s cereal production increased 230% between 1966 and 2009, according to this new study, whose credit goes to the vast improvements in irrigation infrastructure across India. Irrigation sources contributed 86% of the increase in water usage for cereal production during this period.

Rainwater used for agriculture on rainfed lands reduced from 300 cu km to 219 cu km. This fall expresses both the expansion of the irrigated area and the decline in average rainfall in recent decades, Ashwini Chhatre, co-author of the present study and associate professor of public policy and academic director at the Bharti Institute of Public Policy at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, told IndiaSpend.

 

Water Requirement For Cereal Crops

Year

Precipitation (Rainfed Land)

Precipitation (Irrigated Land)

Irrigation Water

Wheat Irrigation Water Demand

1966

300

98

83

32

2009

219

200

213

135

Source: Science Advances; Figures in cu km.

 

Average rainfall declined from 1,050 mm in the kharif (monsoon) season of 1970 to less than 1,000 mm in kharif 2015. Similarly, in the winter cropping or rabi season, average rainfall declined from roughly 150 mm in 1970 to about 100 mm in 2015, IndiaSpend reported in June 2018 based on the findings of a new NITI Aayog study. The number of days without rainfall during the monsoons has increased, from 40% in 1970 to 45% in 2015.

“Protective irrigation is vital to insure farmers [growing] alternative cereals against dry days and dry spells during the monsoon, both of which are now established outcomes of climate change,” said Chhatre.

How foodgrain subsidy has added to water stress and nutritional deficiencies

Cereal consumption and cropping data show that the shift towards rice-wheat consumption and cropping has intensified since the Green Revolution of the 1960s.

Between the mid-1960s and 2010, an urban Indian’s wheat consumption almost doubled, from 27 kg to 52 kg. This plate-share gain came at the cost of the consumption of sorghum and millets, reducing their average annual per capita consumption from 32.9 kg to 4.2 kg.

As a result, since 1956, the area under millets and sorghum has shrunk–23% for pearl millet, 49% for finger millet, 64% for sorghum and 85% for small (or minor) millets.

This dietary shift is typically believed to have been demand-led, as wheat is seen as superior to millets and sorghum, and the cereal preferred by the more affluent Indians. This study, however, showed that the shift is significantly supply-driven, reflecting “a substantial influence from the country’s Public Distribution System”, the food security programme for low-income households.

By providing a guaranteed minimum support price to producers and placing heavy subsidies on rice and wheat at the consumer end, this system “has also served to influence cropping and dietary choices away from more nutrient-rich alternative cereals and is an important factor contributing to the persistence of widespread nutrient deficiencies”, the study noted.

Crop-Specific Nutrient Content

Crop

Energy (Kcal Per 100g)

Protein (Mg Per 100g)

Iron (Mg Per 100g)

Zinc (Mg Per 100g)

Rice, raw, milled

356

7.94

0.65

1.21

Wheat, whole

322

10.59

3.97

2.85

Maize, dry

334

8.8

2.49

2.27

Pearl millet

348

10.96

6.42

2.76

Finger millet

321

7.16

4.62

2.53

Sorghum

334

9.97

3.95

1.96

Source: Indian Food Composition Tables, National Institute Of Nutrition, quoted in Science Advances.

 

“Chief minister N.T. Rama Rao’s promise of rice at Rs 2 per kg in 1982 in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh changed the dietary preferences of the last two generations, from millets to rice, without any commensurate improvement in health,” Chhatre added by way of more examples to show this supply-side push.

Partly as a result of this, anaemia in women of reproductive age–a key indicator of the health status of a society–has increased in Telangana (part of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh), from 49.8% in the first National Family Health Survey (NFHS) in 1999-2000 to 55% in the latest NFHS in 2015-16.

Shah advocated introducing healthier millets and pulses into the Mid-Day Meal scheme and Integrated Child Development Services scheme, to create sizeable demand for these crops and to create a structure of incentives for farmers to grow them. This could be followed by the decentralised procurement of the crops by the government for supply to these schemes.

“At present, we only incentivise the growing of water-intensive crops because those are the only crops we procure,” he said.

This study has also found that swapping rice for an alternative cereal would not entail a fall in production, which could have implied a shortage of food grain. For instance, switching from rice to maize in 38 rice-growing districts in Madhya Pradesh would actually increase the yield, as would happen in 22 rice-growing districts in Maharashtra. Swapping rice for sorghum in 31 rice-growing districts in Madhya Pradesh and in 14 districts in Maharashtra would produce a higher yield, it added.

 

Source: Science Advances

 

Decentralising nutrient production would protect from local climate shocks

Punjab, with 97% of its land irrigated, and Haryana, with 84%, vastly improved their irrigation facilities between 1966 and 2009, the period of this study. In becoming key producers of rice and wheat for the country, these states have also become the largest sources of agricultural water demand.

The irrigation needs of wheat–a rabi crop–have driven 69% of the increase in demand for water for agricultural purposes. Rice, meanwhile, is the most inefficient crop in nutrient production as well as water usage, in both the kharif and rabi seasons.

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Consequently, replacing the rice grown in the northern grain belt alone with alternative crops would deliver substantial water saving, and “about half of total water savings from replacement would come from just 39 districts, most of which are in Punjab and Haryana”, Chhatre said.

The study has found that in the last 40 years, the burden of water stress has shifted away from southern districts, some of which have experienced a decrease in agricultural water demand, towards Punjab and Haryana.

 

 

Source: Science Advances

Changing the cropping pattern across India would effectively decentralise nutrient production, thereby reducing the impact of local climate shocks such as droughts or floods to national grain production, Kyle Frankel Davis, the lead author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow at The Earth Institute, Columbia University, USA, as well as a NatureNet Science Fellow at The Nature Conservancy, told IndiaSpend.

“While India has done well to prioritise calorie production to avoid widespread hunger, now, considerations like nutrition and environmental impacts cannot continue to be side-stepped if the country wants to achieve better health for all and environmental sustainability,” he said.

(Bahri is a freelance writer and editor based in Mount Abu, Rajasthan.)

We welcome feedback. Please write to respond@indiaspend.org. We reserve the right to edit responses for language and grammar.

From high cost to lack of policies, fitting the links for smarter farmingThere's some good news from the ground and the labs on sustainable farmer techniques but, the first of a two part series looks at the missing links

A few weeks after Vinod Kumar passed his matric examination, his farmer-father started sending him to the Central Soil Salinity Research Institute in this district, to check on new seed varieties of wheat or rice they could grow.

Kumar continued to visit the institute all through his graduation years because he wanted to farm better. During one such visit in 2012, Kumar, then 26, learnt a team of scientists was looking for farms to set up an experiment. They wished to compare conventional farming with climate-smart agriculture techniques, that would help farmers grow more, increase their income and adapt to climate change.

Kumar volunteered his 40-acre farm, about 20 km away at Anjanthali village. “They will use the best techniques and their money to grow better crops, which will be mine,” Kumar remembers thinking. Over the next three years, researchers ran experiments in a portion of Kumar’s and other farmers’ fields in the district. When Kumar applied some of those techniques on the rest of his farm, he profited about Rs 6,000 more per acre, by reducing input cost and growing more wheat. He also stopped the burning of crop residue, which contributes to smog in the National Capital Region.

What and why

The study was led by Mangi Lal Jat, principal scientist at the Delhi branch of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center or CIMMYT, and funded by The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security or CCAFS — this is a global network of scientists studying agriculture and climate change. The network started promoting climate-smart agriculture in India in 2012.

“This is urgent,” says Arun Khatri-Chhetri, scientist with the South Asia chapter of CCAFS. India’s official Economic Survey of early this year said climate change would lower farmers’ income by 12 per cent annually on an average in the coming years. And, in unirrigated areas, farmers could lose up to 18 per cent of their annual income if they and policies did not adapt to climate change. The Survey urged climate-smart agriculture. CCAFS set up its first climate-smart projects in Haryana and Bihar. The evidence generated over the years led the Haryana government to announce last year that it would promote such agriculture in 250 villages over the next three years. The Bihar government will do so in 100 villages. Both have separately got Rs 250 million from the central government for this. Meanwhile, the governments of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have also announced they will do climate-smart farming in about 1,000 villages each.

Even so…

Howev