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Our Bureau

States urged to draw up their own plan for agriculture

New Delhi May 29 The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Tuesday asserted that the goal of four per cent annual growth in agriculture and allied activities was feasible "if only we are willing to take tough decisions and take concerted action."

In his closing remarks at the National Development Council (NDC) meeting, the Prime Minister said in order to achieve this growth rate, actions to be taken by the Centre and the States have been listed out in the resolution adopted at the end of the meeting.

`Draw up own plans'

As the problems of agriculture needs localised solutions taking into account local endowments, capabilities and constraints, the single biggest message from today's deliberations is to allow States to draw up their own plans for agriculture, Dr Singh said.

In response to the emphasis on irrigation and the need for more funding by various Chief Ministers at the meeting, the Prime Minister said the Plan panel would finalise an approach for utilising irrigation potential both effectively and efficiently.

Cause for concern

Specifically, he urged the need to ensure that small landholders and women working farms are adequately protected against risks and benefits from all efforts to improve agricultural performance.

Earlier, in his welcome address, the Prime Minister said that at less than two per cent per annum, the growth of the agriculture sector since the mid-90s has been a cause for concern.

"There is a technology fatigue which we need to address," he said, referring to the lack of any breakthroughs in agricultural production technology in recent years.

Underlining the need to work towards a rapid rise in the production of wheat, rice, pulses and edible oil, so that prices could be kept under check and adequate supply of these to the public is ensured, he said: "We can also consider launching a Food Security Mission for raising production of these items in three years."

Mix of interventions

The Prime Minster highlighted the need to move away from "mechanical implementation" of fragmented schemes towards an "integrated approach," which would entail a mix of interventions consistent with local requirements.

In his interventions, Finance Minister Mr P. Chidambarm supported the proposal to provide additional resources and transfer the same through the method of additional Central assistance.

But, he added, the horizontal allocation across States should be based on a transparent formula: the size of agricultural GDP of the State and the prevalent yield gap could be among some of the parameters.

Focus areas

He also cautioned that the additional resources of the Central and State governments should be spent wisely and focus on irrigation, seeds, soil testing, better delivery of fertiliser subsidy, market and agricultural research and extension "without wastage and without corruption."

He also supported the proposal to develop State-specific plans for agriculture, which should be an aggregate of district-specific plans formulated for districts in that State.

Food security

Mr Sharad Pawar, Union Minister for Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, said that since one of the most critical issues faced by the farm sector was the vulnerability of food security, attention was accordingly focused on increasing production of wheat, rice and pulses.

He urged the States to integrate efforts under various schemes in the agriculture sector and other programmes such as Rural Infrastructure Development Fund, Backward Region Grant Fund, National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme and minor irrigation projects and prepare State Plans.

More Stories on : Agricultural Policy | Foodgrains | Economy

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