JOIN USWhat’s the way forward , or the way out, to the entire mess of rotting foodgrains and inadequate storage amid the exhilarating story of India’s prosperous harvest each year.
Experts say the answer lies in deciphering the complexity surrounding the issue. The simple solution, off course, is that Punjab and other producer states cater to the demand for more storage space, but there’s more to the problem. The movement of stock from market terminals, warehouses and eventually out of warehouses has to be at the rate of 22 lakh MT a month, reliable sources said. Unless that takes place, storage will always be a problem and foodgrain of previous seasons piled up in warehouses will not be moved out. The movement doesn’t take place at the desired pace, or even at half the expected pace. Dependence and availability on railway network for transportation also retards much of the progress in movement of stock.
Experts feel a comprehensive multi-pronged approach, that focuses not just on foodgrain production but also on storage and more importantly on farmers’ issues in totality, needs to be followed. Is agriculture in country’s biggest bread basket Punjab sustainable or even viable? A study conducted by the Panjab Agriculture University (PAU), Ludhiana states that farming on less than 14 acres of land is unviable, farm expert Hamir Singh said. Highlighting the plight of farmers quoting a report, he said that the living standard of a farmer with 10 acre or less of land holding is no better than that of a peon. As many as 89 per cent of Punjab’s farm households are reeling under debt. For every hectare of land holding, the outstanding debt is Rs 50,140. The price Punjab pays for its bumper crop is colossal.
The centre has banned use of ground water in as many as 18 blocks in Punjab owing to its indiscriminate use. Another 104 blocks in the state have been rendered as dark zones with maximum exploitation of ground water for agriculture. Punjab needs to look at a viable sustainable farming system being laid out in Andhra Pradesh. Within a span of six years, AP has brought in 40 lakh acres under no pesticides farming.
It has set a target for increasing the acreage under sustainable farming to 100 lakh acres by 2013. Significantly, farm incomes have increased and environment has become much clean. So, is the much talked about, and perhaps even practised, diversification the way out? Farmers are reluctant, given that wheat and paddy enjoy an assured MSP, unlike many other crops that fall in the ambit of well propagated diversification models.
But before the farmer gets the MSP on his produce, an agonising wait for days in grain markets has become a staple feature each season. And during this waiting period, unexpected damage due to moisture and rain before procurement is the farmers’ burden.
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