The Hindu Business Line : Indian agriculture: Hard questions on R&D turf

Although the debate over agricultural R&D policy differs from one country to another, fundamental concerns are common. The perception is widespread that agricultural R&D in India needs to be drastically revamped.

Proper resource management should be the guiding principle in agricultural R&D.

K. P. Prabhakaran Nair

For more than a week now, the central question that revolved around the last Budget of the UPA regime was the colossal Rs 60,000-crore farm loan waiver. The heat and dust kicked up is almost settling down, and, come what may, one must supposedly assume that the loan waiver is here to stay. That is the consensus emerging from both the ruling regime and the opposition. The mechanics of dispensation will eventually be “worked out”; whether the taxpayer — in this process of “paying this distress bill,” as described by the Prime Minister in Parliament on the motion of thanks to the President’s speech — will get a severe knock in the years to come, or public sector banks will receive a severe financial jolt, only time will tell. It is amazing that during all these heated discussions, none paused to ask the crucial question: Why an Indian farmer takes a loan inasmuch as his agricultural operations are concerned.

Package of practice

Put another way, if a farmer is implementing a particular “package of practices” — what the agricultural fraternity dishes out from its “research” on the experimental farm— of what use is the need for the loan if the package is most viable for the farmer? In other words, what does the R&D in Indian agriculture deliver to the farmer? That is the heart of the problem.

Paying the high price

Take the following example. Tukaram Rathode in Vidharba region — the most suicide-prone “cotton bowl” of India — took a loan from the local moneylender to go in for the much-hyped Bt cotton, because the seed was very expensive compared to the local hybrid (Rs 1,950 for 450 gm for the “Bollgard”, which is the Bt cotton variety brought out by the MNC, supposedly resistant to the dreaded boll worm compared to the local hybrid costing just Rs 350 for the same quantity).

Rathode went by the fertiliser schedule recommended in the ‘package of practice’ for cotton and that, in turn, was a heavy investment and there was no way of knowing beforehand whether his field would need all that quantity of nutrients as no soil test was done. Tragically for Rathode, the crop failed, as did happen in 2003, and despite a central team of “experts” visiting the fields, no proper answer was forthcoming.

Now, in this scenario, the first question that needs to be asked is: Why is it that a 450 gm seed packet cost Rathode close to $50, when the same MNC was selling the same seed and similar quantity for about $2 in China? The answer to this question is simple: While all the cotton “scientists” working in different establishments in India could not bring out a desi Bt cotton, the Chinese could. The same story goes with Vietnamese pepper or Guatemalan cardamom. The examples could be multiplied.

Global scenario in R&D

Towards the end of the last century, global public sector investments in agriculture R&D crossed $20 billion, with almost an equal break-up between developed and developing countries.

Of the prime contributors is the Washington-based Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR); the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Lagos, Nigeria; the International Institute for Agro Forestry (ICRAF) in Nairobi, Kenya, so on , including the Hyderabad-based International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).

The other major contributors to the global investments are the US, Europe, Asia, including India. The contribution from CGIAR during the above-mentioned period was more than $300 million. Most interestingly, private sector spending in the US crossed the $3 billon mark during the same period. There is no precise data on private sector spending in R&D in agriculture in India, though we know that, next to the US, India has the biggest public sector-funded research set-up in the world.

Indian research

Prominent research establishments include the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR); more than 35 State agricultural universities (SAU); several ICAR-funded agricultural research institutes; commodity boards such as the Rubber, Spices, Tea and Coffee Boards; thousands of Krishi Vigyan Kendras and so on. It is relevant to note in this context that more than 85 per cent of the Budget grant goes to meet the salaries and perks of the staff of these establishments.

What are the payoffs?

If one were to critically examine the payoff from this colossal investment, the picture is unsettling. More so, when we ponder over the miserable plight of the poor farmer, who remains untouched by the so-called Green Revolution. Glossy and colourful “Annual Reports”, “Five-Year Reviews”, “Workshop Proceedings”, Reports of National Commissions and Committees, and so on, are no answers to the plight of the poor farmer of the Vidharba region who chooses to end his life rather than live in shame, because he cannot repay the loan.

Although the debate over agricultural R&D policy differs from one country to another, many fundamental concerns are common. The perception is widespread that agricultural R&D in India needs to be drastically revamped. In this scenario, it is pertinent to quote some recent data from the International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, on agricultural research intensity (ARI) ratios.

Asian research poor

ARI ratios are research expenditures expressed as a percentage of agricultural gross domestic product (AGDP). Since 1960, ARI figures for South Asia (no separate figures are available for India), excluding China, have been very low, ranging from 0.14 to 0.32, while for China it fluctuated from 0.42 to 0.57. By comparison, ARI figures for the US increased from 1.32 to 2.22 and for Australia from 1.54 to 4.52. It must be emphasised that not only is the quantum of investments more in Australia the quality of research is of a much higher order.

How to improve

To make Indian R&D in agriculture more effective and farmer-friendly, the following measures might be considered:

What the farmer reaps today from R&D dates back to at least two-three decades (the heydays of the so-called Green Revolution) and nothing spectacular — either by way of producing high-yielding crop varieties that can breach the yield barrier, or spectacular soil/crop management techniques, reducing substantially management investments — has come about.

Public-private mix

Government intervention in R&D is here to stay with sporadic efforts from the private sector. Hard questions must be raised about the appropriate mix of public and private sector spending. Especially in government set-ups, examples of inefficiency and wasted efforts abound.

While public efforts lack accountability (as the recent World Development Report has clearly brought out), private funding is driven by the “greed factor” to make a fast buck. Bt brinjal, which was hastily field-tested flouting many of the bio-safety norms is a classic case.

Resource management

Proper resource management, with scarce resources allocated to areas with potential or highest payoffs, should be the guiding principle in agricultural R&D. There are classic examples of mismatch. For instance, in Kerala, where the annual rainfall exceeds 300 cm per annum, there is a huge research institute on water management. Come summer, fields parch and there is water scarcity all round!

Incentives

Any movement in the direction of free trade in agricultural goods is likely to enhance private incentives to finance agricultural R&D and adopt the results.

Uncertainty about the country’s political dispensation is the greatest disincentive to long-term investments in knowledge and capital.

Ideally, government and private funding in agricultural R&D should target maximal societal benefit. This entails getting the total investment right, as well as the right mix of projects, programmes, financing arrangements and execution agencies.

How much money should go to agricultural R&D? Developed countries over the years have invested 1 per cent of their AGDP (Agricultural Gross Domestic Product). In India, the budget is not calibrated against AGDP for investments in R&D. In sum, one would say, playing to the galleries may be welcome politics in the coming season of elections, but, the national kitty is not a bottomless pit!

(The author is an international agricultural scientist.)

More Stories on : Agriculture | Research & Development

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Food procurement: Market price or MSP?

Tapping the reserves

Indian agriculture: Hard questions on R&D turf

Blind spots of India’s work culture

An alternative oil pricing strategy

Hockey woes

Dollar slide and commodity prices

City on wheels