The Hindu Business Line : Farm growth cannot be doubled without corporate role: Montek

`ROPE IN CORPORATES': Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, with Mr R.G. Chandramogan (left), Managing Director, Hatsun Agro Products Ltd, and Mr C.K. Ranganathan, President, Madras Management Association, at a seminar on `Corporate's role in rural development' in Chennai on Tuesday. — Bijoy Ghosh

Chennai March 27 Agriculture growth cannot double without the involvement of the corporate sector, which has the capacity in marketing, supporting diversified agriculture base and bringing in modern technologies, according to Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission.

Addressing a seminar on `Corporate's role in rural development' organised by the Madras Management Association, Mr Ahluwalia, said the State Governments need to include the role of corporate sector in their strategies on agriculture growth, especially in areas like contract farming, marketing, logistics and input supply.

The Centre has not failed to recognise the role the corporate sector has to play in agriculture growth. It would be possible to double the growth rate in agriculture to 4 per cent only with a broad based agriculture production involving horticulture, livestock, dairy, and poultry and increasing agriculture productivity. Relying on cereals alone would support only 2 per cent growth, he said.

Diversification can only happen with modern technology in production, post-harvest processing, transportation and widening market - domestic and export. The corporate sector and possibly the cooperative sector but with a `modern corporate structure' have to play a key role, he said.

Unlike the green revolution of the 1960s, modern revolution in agriculture cannot come from a single crop or be public sector led. "The world was different then," Mr Ahluwalia said.

Private sector plays a large role in research; India is the fourth largest user of genetically modified seeds. IPR issues and modern infrastructure like reliable power and efficient water use need to be addressed. "The challenge today is more difficult than the green revolution challenges," he said.

A fundamental constraint is that the farmer alone could own the land and the corporate sector cannot.

But within the existing framework the companies and the farmers could be brought together, he said. Mr Ahluwalia said there is "fairly deep suspicion" of the corporate sector involvement in agriculture because of the presumption of its bargaining power. But there were enough and more success stories - including traditional sugar mill operations, which are examples of corporate contract farming - that can be replicated with appropriate policy support.

A free lunch

For anyone who has attended a meeting on agriculture output these numbers must be familiar as every speaker repeats by rote - only two per cent of horticulture produce is processed, 40 per cent is wasted.

Today the bluff was called. Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, challenged the participants to come out with the source for the data. Where did those numbers come from, he wondered. He had extensively searched for the source of the original data but had failed to find it.

"I personally will give a lunch if anybody can tell me where the original numbers came from," he said.

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