Relevance: GS-3 Issues related to Direct and Indirect Farm Subsidies and Minimum Support Prices Key phrases: Restorative Agriculture, Zero Budget Natural Farming, Sustainable Agriculture, knowledge based policy reforms

Why in news: Government of India has recently announced the withdrawal of the three farm laws.

The article provides an overview of reforms needed in the farming sector and the focus on maximum support policies rather than vote bank politics.

Farmer issues in India

1. Insufficient Water Supply: Water availability in India is more than sufficient to irrigate all cultivation areas; the problem is that we still have to find cheap and suitable solutions to utilise such enormous water supplies. Due to several reasons, farmers either don’t receive the appropriate amount of water or don’t get the supply on time; many farmers rely on rainwater for irrigation.

2. Less Use of Modern Farming Equipment: In most areas, to date, farmers follow primitive cultivation methods; traditionally-used plough and relevant native accessories continue to be farmers’ preference. Despite no shortage of efficient equipment and machinery, there’s very little use of modern equipment, majorly because most farmers don’t have lands huge enough to use advanced instruments, heavy machinery.

3. Over Dependence on Traditional Crops: Indian farmers have been growing rice and wheat for centuries now in several regions. The excessive production of the two grains, many times lead to the storage, sale problems and shortage of other farm products.

4. Poor Storage Facilities: In rural areas, storage facilities are either insufficient or completely absent. In such a situation, farmers usually have no other option than selling their produce immediately once it’s ready, at market prices that are often very low. They are far away from a legitimate income.

5. Transportation Problems: Lack of cheap, efficient means of transportation is a big problem widely seen in the Indian agriculture sector; small farmers still rely on bullock-carts for transporting their produce. Moreover, lakhs of villages are connected with highways and market centers with temporary (kutcha) roads that become muddy and useless in rains. Consequently, farmers cannot deliver their produce to the central market and helplessly sell it in the local market at low costs.

6. High Interest Rates: Thousands of farmers take their lives each year due to debt burden (having other indirect causes interlinked). Unreasonably-high interest rates should be declared illegal, and the government must take quick, strict, and appropriate action against greedy money lenders. Another problem is small and marginal farmers have to go through cumbersome procedures (that they are unaware of) to get institutional credit.

7. Government Schemes are yet to reach Small Farmers: In 2008, the government brought agricultural debt-waiver and debt-relief schemes in effect to benefit over 36 million farmers. The scheme also covered direct agricultural loan to stressed farmers. However, most of such welfare programs and subsidies announced by both the central and state governments are yet to reach poor farmers, while big/wealthy landlords are hugely benefited.

Solutions to these problems:

1. Substantial and phased withdrawal from Green Revolution model, as this scheme provides subsidized agriculture which promotes the use of industrial chemicals and fertilizer, the focus should now shift to sustainable agriculture. The focus can now shift to evergreen revolution.

2. Zero Budget Natural Farming should be encouraged after understanding the diverse agro climatic cultural zone of India. One size fits all approach should not be followed as India is a geographically and culturally diverse nation.

3. Bottom up approach also needs to be followed which basically deals with the social aspects. The local issues such as bonded labour, tenancy reforms should first be addressed.

4. The average land holding in the country is 0.9 hectare and hence it is necessary to ensure equitable resources -availability of water, soil, electricity, seeds, financial support etc.

5. Restorative agriculture should have a place in policy making to improve and regenerate soil and water resources and promote agro biodiversity, seed health. Agriculture practices should encourage climate change mitigation and adaptation.

6. Support farmers to form collectives in which resources, labor skills, knowledge are pooled for food production, value addition and marketing.

7. Democratization and decentralization of agri planning linked to revitalization of ecologically suitable cultivation and facilitation is the need of the hour. Local collection and supply of food grains should be encouraged to address malnutrition in the country.

8. New seed policy - to develop a local seed bank for good seeds.

All these policies can decrease rural urban migration thereby promoting small scale industries and increasing rural development. These policies to be effective also require reforms in the panchayat, anganwadis, primary health care centers, rural schools etc. These sectors need to be de-bureaucratized to address social inequalities. Knowledge based policy reforms to include culture and heritage has to be encouraged. Further the reforms should include Maximum support policies rather than concentrating only on Minimum support prices or vote bank politics.

Zero Budget Natural Farming

Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) is a set of farming methods, and also a grassroots peasant movement, which has spread to various states in India. It has attained wide success in southern India, especially the southern Indian state of Karnataka where it first evolved. The movement in Karnataka state was born out of collaboration between Mr Subhash Palekar, who put together the ZBNF practices, and the state farmers’ association Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS), a member of La Via Campesina (LVC).

ZBNF is based on 4 pillars:

● Jeevamrutha: It is a mixture of fresh cow dung and aged cow urine (both from India's indigenous cow breed), jaggery, pulse flour, water and soil; to be applied on farmland.

● Bijamrita: It is a concoction of neem leaves & pulp, tobacco and green chilies prepared for insect and pest management, that can be used to treat seeds.

● Acchadana (Mulching): It protects topsoil during cultivation and does not destroy it by tilling.

● Whapasa: It is the condition where there are both air molecules and water molecules present in the soil. Thereby helping in reducing irrigation requirements.

Benefits of ZBNF:

With the rising cost of external inputs (fertilizers and pesticides), which is the leading cause of indebtedness and suicide among farmers. According to the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) data, almost 70% of agricultural households spend more than they earn and more than half of all farmers are in debt.

• Since in ZBNF there is the need to spend money or take loans for external inputs, the cost of production could be reduced and farming made into a “zero budget” exercise.
• This would break the debt cycle for many small farmers and help to envisage the doubling of farmer's income by 2022.

• At a time when chemical-intensive farming is resulting in soil and environmental degradation, a zero-cost environmentally-friendly farming method is definitely a timely initiative.

• The ZBNF method promotes soil aeration, minimal watering, intercropping, bunds and topsoil mulching and discourages intensive irrigation and deep ploughing.
• It suits all crops in all agro-climatic zones.
• Citing the benefits of ZBNF, in June 2018, Andhra Pradesh rolled out an ambitious plan to become India’s first State to practice 100% natural farming by 2024.

Way forward

• Public procurement can continue for staple cereals, but farmers of non-staple food crops need to be provided with direct income transfers.

• Farmers can be allowed to sell in the private market and if they get a lower price than MSP, then to reimburse the difference between the two.

• A gradual movement to an income-based support system is needed. PM-KISAN is currently attempting this.

The government can explore workable models to ensure a balance between the demand for legal guarantee for MSP, and ensuring overall rural development.

Source: Indian Express