Apart from waking up the urban class to these questions, PC has not done much for the farmers and the agriculture sector in his Budget. But, that is a big beginning. Till now relegated to an obscure corner in India's faraway villages, with this Budget, 'The Farmer' has made a rather shy entry to the urban class's busy life. However, the entry was not a smooth one for Him.
In fact, He is the millstone around the 'Shining' India's neck. After all, farm sector has grown at a paltry average of 2.3 per cent a year in the Tenth Five Year Plan, a small change from 2.2 per cent of the Ninth Plan.
Why the 'Humble Farmer' is a daily itch for the 'metrowalahs' now. Because, according to the finance minister, inflation (at 6.7% as on February 3) is fuelled by shortage of essential food products or in the Budget jargon a 'Supply Problem'.
So 'The Farmer' is not producing enough for a soaring urban India (driven essentially by higher incomes). Then it became a necessity to make agriculture a fashion statement. That is why the Finance Minister said in his Budget speech: "Everything else can wait but not agriculture."
But, half way through his 100-minute speech, PC drew the attention of the Speaker saying: "Mr Speaker, Sir, I have devoted the last 20 minutes to agriculture. There is no dearth of schemes; there is no dearth of funds. What needs to be done is to deliver the intended outcomes."
If there is no shortage of schemes, where are the results? This is one question PC and the policy-makers have to address. And, it is time political parties across-the-board came together to evolve a consensus over how to strengthen the farm sector.
In fact, food security is increasingly being perceived as the responsibility of the Central government, while under the Constitution, 'agriculture' is a 'state' subject. States have to play a more proactive role in promoting farming and related activities. The disconnect between the Centre and the states in the matter of agricultural development needs to be bridged.
The finance minister has tried to pay some attention to deliver relief to farmers. A number of proposals, with the objective to improve the economic viability of farming and ensure that farmers earn a minimum net income, have been mooted in the Budget.
These include enhanced total farm credit with wider coverage of beneficiaries, higher allocation for irrigation and water management, training of farmers, agricultural insurance, rural infrastructure and so on.
One of the specific proposals mooted is the scaling up of the production of breeder, foundation and certified seeds in order to raise the production and productivity of pulses. While this is a welcome step, there are structural and agronomic problems faced by pulses growers, including use of marginal lands, rainfed cultivation and pest attacks.
In a candid admission of failure, the Finance Minister said, "Sadly, the extension system seems to have collapsed". Again, the collapse of the system has been happening gradually over years because of official apathy. The complaint of most farmers is that extension workers are seldom seen on farms.
By their very nature, results from investments in and policy initiatives for the farm sector will take time to materialise. But the economy is growing so rapidly that supply-side constraints have become acute. Again, the extant supply-side constraints are the accumulated result of years of indifference.
The Budget offers a wholesome package at the production stage to make agriculture more resilient. It has reiterated the need to develop better seeds for increased productivity, especially in pulses with integrated development programmes to focus on oilseeds and maize. The plantation sector has also been rightly short-listed given the vast potential.
However, the ironic move was the decision to ban futures trading in wheat and rice ostensibly because of the inflation factor. There has been evidence to show that farmers have benefited from superior price information in case of wheat last year when production was down.
Therefore, this decision appears as an anomaly since futures trading is the missing link now in the entire gamut of measures for agriculture announced in the Budget.
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