PEOPLE AND THEIR PROBLEMS

New Delhi, 20 January 2006

Evergreen Revolution Needed

BREAD BASKET TOWARDS FOOD INSECURITY

By Radhakrishna Rao

The National Commission on farmers has suggested a programme for agricultural renewal that can be the starting point for a second green revolution, water harvesting, soil health improvement, dissemination of new technologies, infrastructure development and application of science and biotechnology would make a difference to the way we address the farm sector.

Ludhiana-based Punjab Agriculture University (PAU), which played a crucial role in bringing about green revolution in Punjab and Haryana has  now hit upon  the idea for the renewal and resurgence of the Indian agriculture with a focus on the diversification of cropping pattern and  promotion of  agro processing industry. In this enterprise, the PAU is keen on attracting large-scale private investment for bolstering the research and development of the new farming strategy. On another front, the PAU has emphasised the need for developing transgenic crop varieties capable of withstanding environmental stress and giving a higher yield.

President Abdul Kalam has also driven home the point that at a time when the land under cultivation is decreasing owing to a variety of factors and the population is on the rise, doubling the food productivity is the only way to feed the burgeoning Indian population by 2020.  India’s arable land is projected to fall to around 100 million hectares from the present 170 million by 2020. At the same time, the production will have to be increased from the current 200 million tonnes per year to 300 million tonnes per year to help India remain self-sufficient in food.

A second green revolution should envisage an integrated programme, taking care of all aspects of agriculture—from soil characteristics to seed production and value addition and marketing of food grains, observed the President. He has also observed that there was need to challenge it to ensure sustainable plant productivity under changing environment, proper training of farmers and enabling an adequate supply of water.

On the other hand, M.S. Swaminathan, Chairman of the Chennai-based M.S. Swaminathan  Research Foundation (MSSRF) too has stressed on the need to  reinvigorate the Indian farming through a “evergreen revolution”. The need for an evergreen revolution, he stressed, has assumed importance in the wake of the growing damage to   the ecological foundations essential for sustainable food security such as land, water, biodiversity and forests. Indeed, a study carried out by the MSSRF with the assistance of the World Food Programme (WFP) has revealed that the green revolution States of Punjab and Haryana  are likely to  become food insecure in two decades now. Of course, right at the moment, these two States are the veritable bread basket of India.

The thesis of  Swaminathan is that rice and wheat rotation in these two States had led to the displacement of grain and fodder legumes capable  of enriching soil fertility which holds the key to food security. As stated by him, the future of food security depends to a large extent on conservation of the arable land through proper management of soil health and replenishment of the fertility. Another green revolution is not just about increasing yield but also productivity without social or ecological ills. Swaminathan is clear in his perception that agriculture is not just a food producing machine but is the backbone of the livelihood of security system

According to Swaminathan, it would be possible through a three-pronged strategy—defending the gains already made and bridging the productivity gaps in addition to extending the gains to additional areas and creating employment opportunities to usher in era of a sustainable food production. Seeking a paradigm shift to make development in farming and rural sectors sustainable, he says, it is necessary to adopt  a people oriented approach. ’Efforts must begin from below. It should trickle up instead of trickling down to bridge the genetic, gender and digital divide in the country. The need of the hour is to achieve productivity revolution in a sustainable manner, says Swaminathan.

Clearly and apparently, there is an unanimity of the view that the next phase of growth in food production would come from efficient management of natural  resources than the genetic yield of the corps. ‘It is unrealistic  to expect a yield improvement  beyond what is estimated as the potential yield  of present day wheat  and rice crops’, says Prof. Suresh K. Sinha, a leading food crop expert

The geographical lopsidedness of green revolution strategy is clearly brought forth by the fact that while Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh are literally overflowing with  foodgrains in parts of Orissa, Maharastra and Madhya Pradesh, semi-starvation and malnutrition continues to nag a large section of the rural and tribal population.

In fact, it is a case of scarcity amidst plenty and shortage amidst abundance for a large segment of the poor and marginalised sections of the society in the country .Against the per capita availability of 501.9 gms of cereals, the estimated consumption  in India is of the order of 394 gms. In the ultimate analysis, the glaring inequality in the consumption of food grains  among different social and income groups has been clearly masked by the overall consumption estimated.

Coming back to the green revolution, Punjab which is 1960s heralded  green revolution is today slowly realizing that the dynamics of green revolution is no more sustainable in the contest of fast changing socio economic realities of the country.  Indiscriminate use of water and excessive application of pesticides and fertilizers have contributed to the declining soil health and rapidly falling ground water table.  Land salinization in Punjab and Haryana has been blamed on the green revolution strategy .

Incidentally, it was Prof.William Gadd of the USA who after witnessing  the quantum jump in wheat production in the once semi arid Punjab  made possible by the introduction of  semi-dwarf varieties and liberal use of water and chemical inputs coined the term Green Revolution in 1968. As farm experts point out Punjab pioneered the green revolution because of the interest displayed by farmers keen on innovating and also the support provided by the agricultural  research institutions in the country.---INFA

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