Government moves ahead to grant industry status for farming

A new agricultural policy with the objective of meeting long-standing demand of the farmers to consider agriculture and horticulture as an industry as well as the moderate to good allocation for several programmes have come as positive steps. Yet they fail to address the challenge.

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said the proposed agricultural policy will lay thrust on water security, land bank and mass cultivation, micro irrigation, processing of farm produce and marketing.

In addition to the Rs 10,000 annual financial assistance provided to small and marginal farmers, the government will issue a Kisan Credit Card to all the farmers and fishermen. This will check farmers’ falling into an informal debt trap.

In order to boost farm production and bring down input costs, the government will provide chemically processed and polymer-smeared seeds to the farmers through Raitha Samparka Kendras.

The “mobile agricultural health clinics” for soil/water testing and technical assistance in farming, Rs 200 crore for supply of water-dissolvable fertilisers, micro-nutrients to encourage organic farming are other major programmes.

Depending on the demand, the government will set up 10 cold storage units each of 5,000 MT capacity under public-private partnership. Small and marginal farmers who shift to horticulture will be provided with a financial assistance of Rs 5,000 per hectare.

Yet, the budget fails to take note of the crisis gripping the sector, which has faced drought and floods consistently in the last few years. In the last two years alone, the damage to agriculture is estimated to have crossed Rs 10,000 crore besides the losses of horticulture and permanent erosion.

Former chairman of Agriculture Price Commission Prakash Kammaradi said that viewed from the point of allocation, the budget comes as a major blessing but an analysis of the programmes against the backdrop of the challenges posed by climate change, one could see severe limitations.

“Considering the consistency of the drought and floods over the last two years, the government should have laid a roadmap for the climate change resilient agriculture. These disparate programmes with high allocations will not be able to address the crisis farmers are facing every day,” he said.

Besides, he noted, there is no evaluation of the programmes. Schemes like Fasal Bima Yojana need to be analysed in terms of the number of farmers yet to receive the aid but no such efforts are being made.

He said the schemes to increase production, augmenting marketing capacity of small and marginal farmers, development of the agricultural value chain do not meet the demand of assured income to farmers.