Dr. Soma Marla, Agriculture Desk. 22.1.22
Draft Paper on 75 years of Indian Agriculture
( Submit to EC, AIPSN for publication of booklets).
Elusive
Growth in Agriculture ?
Seventy five years passed since we attained
independence from Colonial Briton. During this period Indian country side had
undergone many transformative changes in
both agricultural production, relations
and development, thus impacting rural lives. With nearly 65 percent of
population still living in villages and
a majority dependent on agriculture, it is time to examine how farmers fared
during the 75 years.
Agricultural growth remains a
prerequisite for sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction for the
economies in transition. Agriculture not only ensures food security but also
provides livelihood to millions of rural poor. Experts claim that investment agriculture
is 2 to 3 times affective in alleviating poverty compared to any other sector
in economy with returns of 1 : 12.
From the
early decades of the last century farmers played an important role in social
transformation and mobilized country side in fight against British colonialism. Apart from achieving
independence they had two major objectives- emancipation from feudal bondage,
land to the tiller and attainment of social equality & economic prosperity in villages. How
far these cherished goals have been reached after these long years of
independence an important issue. Soon
after independence Zamindari, Rytwari
and other means of land ownership had been abolished. However, the very
structure of land ownership in villages did not change significantly with bulk
of the land concentrated in hands of large sections of rich & middle peasantry
with only a miniscule portion became accessible to small & landless
peasantry belonging to backward & dalit sections. With the half-hearted
land-reforms undertaken by different states having failed in most parts of the
country, the problem remains largely unresolved. As of 2020, 84.2% of the
peasantry fell in the category of small and marginal farmers, owning less than
two hectares. This large section together owns a only 47.3% of cropped area,
while the remaining 52.7% is held by a small minority of large and medium
farmers who make up a mere 13.8% of the farmers. Indian agriculture is diverse
with varied soils, rainfall, climate and cultivated crops and divided in to 13
different agro- climatic zones. Overall 48.9 % of cultivable land is irrigated
with large tracks remaining dry lands dependent on monsoons. In terms of
annual agricultural productivity, growth
rates and farmer incomes states vary,
ranging from 0.25 (Bihar) to 2.69
(Tamilnadu), all India average being 1.69. A major obstacle for backwardness of Indian villages is land
question ie. unequal ownership of land
and participation in agricultural production and distribution. Interestingly
land owned by rich farmers is largely
irrigated and well equipped with
farm machinery and other storage infrastructure. Although
land reforms have been presumed a
means to overcome differences in land ownership, the implementation was largely
symbolic except states of West Bengal, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.
During
70’s after waging militant land
struggles by Left parties, sections of land less Dalits and backward sections
of rural communities was distributed by
state governments with land not more than 4 % of total cultivable land in the
country. Small land holding farmers are
generally resource poor and are often subjected to climate and market vagaries.
Naturally the productivity of small farms is low.
With persisting
high levels of social and economic inequalities and backward production
system food production was insufficient to feed the nation. During the first
decade after indolence compared to other sectors of the economy, agriculture
was grossly neglected. With low domestic production near famine conditions
prevailed. The whole nation was surviving on
‘Ship to mouth’ largely dependent on import of food grains to meet
shortages. Starting late 50’s governments
started increasing investments in
agriculture sector to correct the miserable food shortages and reduce hunger.
Accordingly large dams such as Bakranangal and Nagarjun sagar were built.
Fertilizer facorieswere built and rural electrification initiated. These investments have brought a large tracks
under irrigation. Desi (indigenous) varieties of food crops & cattle breeds
were less productive and development of
more productive & high yielders were required to increase food production.
Consequently dozens of agricultural and veterinary universities & research
institutions under ICAR were established with assistance from USA under US land
grant University model. As per the advice & supervision of Rockefeller,
Ford foundations of America, elite seed
of wheat and Rice were imported from International crop research institutions
located in Mexico and Philippines and
introduced to Indian fields for cultivation. Thus in late 60’s Green revolution
was initiated in Indian villages. However, with introduction of new seeds in
Green revolution, seeds ceased to be an
input saved by farmer and resown season after season. Seed became rather a
complete package, dictating how much the other inputs- fertilizer, pesticides,
tractors, diesel etc should be used. In short a complete package of inputs in
cultivation came under the control of major global chemical & seed MNCs.
The imported crop seeds were align to the local cultivation conditions and
local rainfall pattern (agro eco system) and required input of irrigation, farm
machinery and high doses of chemical fertilizers to obtain high grain yields.
As the new seeds were align to local soils, climate the former had brought a
multitude of new crop pests, weeds and diseases, hitherto unknown to Indian
fields. After the World War II and Vietnam invasion a large section of chemical
industry remained under utilized. In this background, strategically planted
Green revolution came handy for American & Western MNCs for expansion of
production and marketing of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides in Indian
villages. Increased expenditure on inputs like fertilizers, tractors and
pesticides had several folds raised the cost of cultivation. Deep rooted in
villages Green revolution helped establish
a strong grip of foreign seed and chemical MNCS
on Indian food production.
In the first decades of 21 st century, with rapid
implementation of neoliberal reforms, the challenges have shifted to capture of
agriculture and the markets by multinational corporations for its produce. The
control of agricultural inputs is one of the primary means through which
corporations are taking over agriculture. The ‘big four’ corporations–
Bayer-Monstanto, ChemChina-Syngenta, DOW-Dupont and BASF – today control over
70% of the inputs such as fertilizers and commercial seeds.
Table.1 summarizes income disparities in in Indian
villages.
Table 2: Class wise Income from Agriculture (Rs.) 2015-16 at
constant prices
|
Category |
No. of cultivators (million) |
No. of cultivators % share |
Area Occupied % share |
Per Cultivator Annual Income (Rs.)
2015-16 |
Monthly Income (Rs.) 2015-16 |
|
Marginal <1ha. |
99.86 |
68.53 |
24.15 |
33,636 |
2,803 |
|
Small (1 to 2 ha.) |
25.78 |
17.69 |
23.2 |
1,16,196 |
9,683 |
|
Semi-Medium (2-4 ha.) |
13.76 |
9.44 |
23.65 |
2,15,656 |
17,971 |
|
Medium (4-10 ha.) |
5.48 |
3.76 |
19.96 |
4,35,846 |
36,320 |
|
Large ( >10 ha.) |
0.83 |
0.57 |
9.04 |
12,82,125 |
1,06,844 |
|
Total/Average |
145.71 |
100.00 |
100.00 |
87,614 |
7,301 |
Source:
Data on number of cultivators and area occupied was obtained from Agricultural
Census 2015-16, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Government of
India, 2018.
Hunger
amidst Plenty:
Production of food grains has increased several
folds ie. six times from 51 mln tons in 1950 to nearly 310 mln tons by 2021
thus making the nation so called ‘Self sufficient’ in food production.The
following Table illustrates the rise in food production.
|
Food
Item |
Production
( mln.t) (berween
1950- 2021) |
Improvement
Rate (1951
to 2021) |
|
Food
grains |
51.0 to 310.0 |
6 x |
|
Fruits
& Vegetables |
31.0 to
320.0 |
10
x |
|
Milk |
17.0
210.0 |
12
x (World No 1) |
|
Fish |
0.75
to 14.1 |
18
x |
Despite the impressive growth rates achieved during the last 75 years and much said
‘ Self sufficiency’ in food production, today (2021) India among 116 nations
slipped down to 101 position. Ironically it was in 94 th place in 2020. Despite
the overflowing grain stocks with FCI, food availability has fallen
significantly in villages. High level of
beneficiaries (up to 80 percent) of Government’s subsidized food
security scheme is a clear testimony to prevailing hunger and malnutrition in
villages. Data from various surveys indicate
high levels of child mortality, child stunting and with almost half of
children and mothers malnourished. The enigma of persistence of hunger amongst
plenty testifies the reality of rural
India. The mode of food production has shifted from one’s family consumption to
markets.
Despite in the success in food production
·
India is home for 200 mln people, 50 %
of rural poor and shares quarter of total hungry in the world.
·
With 40 % of world’s malnourished
population, country is loosing nearly 9 % of annual GDP.
·
Although rural women constitute 62 % of
work force they face wage discrimination and hardly own any financial assets.
·
Average income of a small farmer both
from cultivation and non farm activity is approximately Rs. 6,200. No farmer
wants his children to practice farming again.
Shift
from self consumption to Markets:
As food
became a marketable commodity, all three areas of it’s production viz.. input
acquisition, production, marketing and distribution turned have come
increasingly under the control of capital. Gradually Green revolution pushed
Indian agriculture from food grain production to cultivation pf cash crops such as Cotton,
sugarcane to horticultural crops to cater to needs metrpols in India and abroad
through exports. Statistics reveal that of the Rs. 100 paid by urban consumers
while purchasing food items, the farmer’s share is not exceeding Rs. 32. All
other intermediatories in the chain seems to be deriving high profits except
the food producer. There appears Early
IX century Marxist economist Kautsky first noted the loss of peasantry in
markets in favor of capital and flow of
surplus from villages to urban area and termed it market disequilibrium. As
capitalist mode of production started dominating, regular fall in market prices
as dictated by domestic & world
grain MNCs, crisis in villages from unequal exchange between farm &
industrial goods, the agricultural crisis further deepend. Bankrupt from
barrowed credit and nearly 4.0 lac small
& tenant farmers (mostly cultivators of Bt cotton, chillies and cash
crops) committed suicides. During the last
two decades significantly reduced subsidies on fertilizers, electricity, diesel
and farm extension activities following neo liberal prescriptions of imperialist agencies such as
WTO, IMF and others. Though the governments introduced some remedial schemes
like crop support prices bank credits and crop insurance, their implementation
was tardy and largely benefited rich farmers and industrialists. An interesting
development in the second decade of this century is organized protests from
farmers protesting against neoliberal pro corporate policies of union
government. Recent farmers march to Parliament, massive Nasik Padayatra and
historic year long farmers peaceful struggles are clear examples of resistance.
Data reveals that only 40.3 % comes from crop cultivation and the rest
comes from non farm labour in other fields and others. These data testifies the
existing crisis in agriculture.
Apart from capturing agricultural inputs MNCs today
deeply invested all along the value chains. Apart from well-known western
corporations such as Walmart, Amazon etc, many Indian corporations like
Reliance, TATA, Adani own their brand super markets as part of value chains,
thus entered in to direct purchase of farm commodities, their storage and
marketing (including exports). The major fury witnessed during year long
farmers agitation against three farm laws was naturally directed against
monopoly and domination of total agricultueral sector starting from inputs,
production, marketing, storage to marketing.
Ecological
crisis:
Another
negative affect of green revolution is intensive farming where high yields are
assured only by application of high dose of fertilizers, water and pesticides.
chemicalization has damaged the soil and the surrounding plant microflora ie plant friendly &
cooperative microorganisms, insects, earthworms and birds. Concentrated &
high levels of Nitrogen, pesticides and pesticides often kept away the
later from root & plant environment
thus depleting natural fertility of soil. For example of the 100 Kgs of Urea
applied only 32 kgs is absorbed by the crop and the rest ends up as a pollutant
to water bodies . Unutilized Nitrogenous fertilizers evaporates as Nitrous
oxide, an important Green house gas.
Cultivation of rice by tapping ground water has resulted
in plummeting ground water levels. Scientists predict Punjab with depleted
ground water and climate change would soon turn in to a desert. Only
alternative is replacing present water guzzling wheat- rice cropping pattern by
less water demanding wheat, pulses, oil seeds and millets. This was the
cropping system traditionally suits to Punjab ecosystem ie.. soils, local
rainfall pattern and ecology. Climate change has further worsened the
agriculture with consequent unseasonal rains, received total rainfall in a
small interval followed by floods. Altered monsoon pattern and recorded very
high temperatures resulting severe droughts. Excessive heat recorded in colder
regions has pushed cultivation of apples and other crops to warmer tracks thus
affecring their yields significantly.
Climate
change could depress crop yields up to 30 percent by 2050, putting about 80 million more
people at risk of undernourishment, according to a paper by the International
Food Policy Research Institute produced for the Global Commission on
Adaptation. Apart from plummeting
ground water levels and environmental crisis today Punjab is suffering from
serious malnutrion as pulses & vegetables are not cultivated and became
unaffordable to rural population.
Transfer of
food, surplus capital and even the soil nutrients (which are irreplaceable, away from recycling
locally) has resulted in serious economic, nutritional and ecological crisis.
Karl Marx in his Ecological note books (1860) cautions export of large
scale food to far off urban areas away
from local consumption writes the former breaks local food cycle and causes
depletion of soil from it’s nutrients. Later Marxist ecologist Bellomy Foster
termed it ‘Metabolic rift’. For example, Punjab termed as harbinger of Green
revolution with high levels of food grain ptoduction unfortunately suffers from
severe malnutrition. Till 70’s pulses,
Jowar,and oil seeds apart from wheat were
major crops till the onset of Green revolution. As a result whet- rice
monocycle replaced cultivation of pulses-wheat-mustard cropping system that was suited to local
rainfall pattern and soils. Increaed rice Cultivation required high levels of irrigation which came
from exploitation of ground water. It was estimated that for production of 1 G
of rice nearly 1,410 liters of water is required, while 10,000 liters for
harvesting aKg of cotton. Besides these crops are align to local ecosystem and
require application of high doses of Nitrogen fertilizers and pesticides gor
control of new pests that were unknown earlier to this region.
Agricultural
Research and Extension:
Research in
development of new technology is necessary for
rising production and
productivity in agriculture. In June
1964, when Lal Bhahadur Shastri ji was
finalizing his ministry, nobody wanted the agriculture portfolio. When C.
Subramaniyam was appointed as
Agriculture minster, the nation was already in the throes of food crisis. We were
importing 150 million tons of food grains ( ie. Almost one tenth of
our annual consumption) from US,
under Pl-480 scheme accepting the
humiliating conditions attached to the imports. Self-sufficiency in food grains became top
priority. India imported under guidance
of Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR, a body
funded by Rockfeller and Ford foundations), semi-dwarf high yielding (HY) wheats,
developed by Borlaug and his team at the International Maize and Wheat
Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Mexico, that ushered in the Green Revolution in
India. Adaptation of imported germplasm to innovate indigenous varieties—like
Kalyan, by DS Athwal and Sona by MS Swaminathan—aided the spread of this
revolution. Around the same time, high yielding rice—IR8—developed by Peter
Jennings and Henry M Beachell of International Rice Research Institute (IRRI,
another CGIAR institution) was imported.
Indian
geneticists actively supported
gave a new thrust to Indian agriculture embedded with
modern technology. The Green revolution and the subsequent attainment of self sufficiency in food
production were achieved with implementation of a two pronged strategy- active
propagation of High Yielding Varieties (HYV) of wheat and rice and to
encourage farmers by providing
market support prices. Along side
were established National seeds Corporation
(NSC) , Food Corporation of India and National Dairy Development board at Anand headed by legendary Dr. D.V. Kurian.
The subsequent success Green, white and blue revolutions that brought self sufficiency in food, milk and fish production was achieved
by infusion of new research
policy based on modern science and technology.
Productivity
of most of the crops was comparable to the global average . The low crop yields
cannot be attributed to "non-availability" of improved technologies
but several factors including inequalities in farming community, access to the modern technologies, lack of crop technology
suitable for small farmer holdings,
short growing season, varied agro-climatic conditions and weather
extremities are other causes for low productivity. Establishment of nearly 50
state agricultueral universities , Krishi Vijnan Kendras in every district and
100 research institutes had paved the way in dissemination of
agricultural technology and development of agriculture in the country. As shown
in Table 1 above huge success has been achieved after independence. However, India's crop yields are lower than those
in the US, Europe and China. India's
rice yield was 2191 kg/hectare, while the global average stood at 3026
kg/hectare, while wheat is 2750 kg/hectare as against the world average yield
of 3289 kg/hectare. Whereas in India, on the same land, farmers grow more than
one crop in a year and per day . From the very beginning, a
major flaw in the agricultural R&D policy has been the
neglect of farming needs of small farmers. The green revolution was drafted and
developed technology was adopted mainly to cater the needs of large farms. The
technology was based on introduction of
plant genes ‘ Norin’ (wheat) and
“Dae woo gen’ (rice) in to Indian wheat and rice varieties respectively.
Introduced high yielding Mexican wheat and TN 1
and IR rice varieties containing the above genes were crossed with
indian native counterparts to develop High Yielding crop varieties. But the new
genes had the ability to change plant physiology thus facilitating high griain
yields. But the irony is high yields are possible only under application of
heavy doses of chemical fertilizers, irrigation and pesticides. This technology
was introduced by CGIAR through International wheat (CIMYT, Mexico) and IRRI
(Philippines), Use of high quantities of inputs ie. chemical fertilizers and
tractors had enormously benefited Western MNCs manufacturing & marketing
agro chemicals, seeds and tractors. In a way Green revolution helped the
imperialism to enter Indian villages and establish a strong grip over Indan
agriculture. On the other side high input based Green revolution largely
benefited resource rich big farmers fetching profits from bumper harvests.
Although small and marginal farmers were forced to adopt new technology by
investing large sums for purchase of costly inputs lured by prospects of high
grain yields. Small farmers had to borrow large sums of money for purchase od
costly inputs, which subsequently impoverished them. It should be noted that
nearly 70 percent of food produced in the country is produced in small farms
owned by small, marginal and tenant farmers.
Since the unprecedented success of the green
revolution, there have been significant advancements in science, its
organization and management and transfer of technology to end users. The
research system expanded considerably and extension system has undergone a
continuous change. Advancements in molecular biology and information technology
have taken shape and research on animals and horticultural crops has expanded.
R & D in Public sector, had witnessed a
significant change after
introduction of various
International treaties such as IPS & Patents, WTO, new seed policy (
allowing private seed firms to
operate), subsequently leading to market
monopoly in seed industry ( with hybrid and transgenic seeds in cotton, maize, vegetables and others) .
Although small farmers were instrumental in
increasing food production and making green revolution they fell in to debt
trap and further pauperized. Thus the R& D strategy underlying green
revolution has benefited domestic rich farmers , grain traders and foreign
agro-chemical MNCs enormously. Even the mandate of public sector research moved
further away from research onrain fed
crops to more on to Hybrid
crops,herbicide tolerant GM crops,
cotton, maize, Soybean and commercial crops invoving crop biotechnology.
Ironically practically no suitable technologies like micro irrigation, cropping
systems and non availability of drought
tolerant varieties of small millets, pulses and oil seeds. Incidentally these
are the crops that ensure certain level of
security from vagaries of weather and pests traditionally cultivated in
small holder farms. Unlike crop varieties, where seeds from earlier crop can be
used for sowing in subsequent seasons,instead public research emphasis on development of hybrid seeds
pushed small farmers to acquire new seeds every season from markets. With
domination of domestic seed market by mostly Global MNCs such as Monsanto,
Cargil, Bayer and their Indian partner seed companies. High price seeds charged by seed firms and gradual weakening
of publis seed production & distribution small farmers are forced to incur
invest large sums on purchase of inputs in crop cultivation. The financial woes
of farmers began with opening of Indian
rural markets to foreign seed multinational firms under neoliberal policy
implementationby subsequent governments by entering in to agreements with WTO
and other imperialist agencies.
Table.3. Investments in Agricultueral Research and
Extension.
(Budget
allocations, % of GDP)
|
Year |
Research |
Extension |
|
1983 |
0.25 |
0.10 |
|
2021 |
0.39 |
0.18 |
Austrla and USA spend nearly 3.0 $ of their GDP.
A clear shift in curriculum and research from
management of larger holdings to needs of small holder farmer holdings.
It should focus on local agro ecological needs to sustain production and income enhancement in small farmer food production systems.
Crop
Diversity:
Diversifying
from existing cropping systems, predominated by rice and wheat in many
unsustainable landscapes, to more nutritious and environment-friendly crops
have often been suggested to address challenges of climate change and
malnutrition. Cropping systems
proceeding a major cereal crop (wheat
in northern states, rice in Southern, eastern & North Eastern
states) cultivation of millets and oil
seeds is a viable alternative. However, such a transition must protected by
assuring profitable MSPs to millets and oil seed crops to benefit income base of the farmers. Diversification
to crops like pulses, oilseeds, vegetables and fruits, adapted to specific
agro-ecologies, must also be planned, and implemented by the states with
suitable incentives to farmers during the changeover. Such diversification
would not only increase the nutritional value of the food system, but also
holds potential to reduce water use and green house gas emissions. However,
diversifying to new portfolio of crops will require establishment of small and medium scale agro food industry to
meet youth employment needs in villages. Crop
Diversity
Mono culture or cultivation of one or
few crops season after season depletes nutrients and water from soils thus
making them infertile with in a few years. Mono culture also damages
environment(with use of high doses of fertilizers, pesticides, ruins organic
structure of soils depleted of plant friendly microorganisms, earth worms and
insects. Apart ecological damage
monoculture robs diet of village poor of pulses, vegetable oils & greens.
Pulses and some oil seeds fix Nitrogen from atomosphere in soil, and hence
require low doses of chemical fertilizers and irrigated water.Cultivation
of a rice or wheat soon after pulses also benefits the later, reducing
fertilizer requirement. Besides, alternative crops reduce incidence of pests
and diseases apart from improvement of
ground water and other water sources, brings extra income to farm families.
Cultivation of short duration (45 to
65 days) of lentils or pulses like green gram allows
farmers to grow in rice fields between
growing seasons. This helps smallholder farmers diversify their incomes and
nutrition sources, which is vital in context of climate change.
Provision of animal proteins to 1.3 billion
population may not be possible in near future. Fish significantly substitute
dietary proten needs. Hence fish production should also become an integral part
of small holder food production system. Integration of crop, animal husbandary,
fish and bee keeping promotes recycling
nutrients sustainably. Apart from improvement in nutritional status could
potentially enhance farmer incomes from small holdings.
Sustainable
Agriculture:
Today Indian agriculture is facing two major
problems- Impoverishment of small & marginal farmers and serious
deterioration of natural Agro ecology. Econamic crisis of farming community has worsened further during
the last two decades mainly due to price
inequalities prevailing in markets. While crisis in agro ecology could be
attributed to disproportionate exploitation of natural resources and climate change. However both the above
problems faced during the last 75 years of independence capitalist are intrinsically linked to capitalist mode
of agricultural development. These
issues need to be addressed to attain further progress in agricultueral
development and farmers well being.
Two major social issues of Indian
villages - hunger and malnutrition can
be addressed with adoption of nature
friendly sustainable farming methods.
Nearly 50 percent of children and young women suffer from malnutrition,
and consequently causing 9 % loss of GDP.
Studies reveal investment of every 1 Re on Balwadi, midday meal &
women nutrition fetches return of Rs. 16
to 40 in terms of health and socio-econamic development. Interestingly
investments in agriculture amount to one twelth, compared to other sectors of
economy.Experts claim that investments in agriculture are 2 to 3 times more affective in addressing
rural poverty to investment in other
sectors of economy.
Integrative Agriculture:
To fulfill basic needs of small farmer house holds
including food (cereals, pulse
oil seeds, milk,
fruit, honey, fish, meat etc.) feed, fodder, fuel and fiber, a well-focused
Integrated Farming strategy is needed.
Fig.1. Econamic
benefits of Integrated Farming Systems,ICAR, 2019.
In small farmer holdings income from crop
cultivation does not exceed 43 % of total house holds. Apart from cropsdiary,
piggery, bee keeping and vegetable
production should be supplemented. Demonstrated Integrarative farming systems
conducted at Modipuram UP), Coimbatore TN) show anextra income up to Rs.79,000 per seaon from 1 ha
with investment of Rs. 12,000 in small
farmer holdings.
In short present crisis in agricultural
production, farmers income and environment can be better addressed by bringing
radical policy changes that primarily benefit small farmer production systems. An alternative strategy stands on four pillars- 1. Land reforms 2).
Sustainable farming 3). Farmer income security abd 4). Attainment of food & nutritional
security. There is an urgent need to implement land reforms, replace present
mode of ecologically damaging capitalist
mode of production by eco friendly sustainable farming preferably practiced in
farmer cooperative production systems.
