Gandhiji was right when he propounded Gram Swaraj — that is, self-reliant village(s) for facilitating rural reconstruction. In his 1942s writings, he observed that each village/town should be its own republic, free of its neighbours for its own indispensable needs. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clarion call “Vocal for Local” amply reflects and complements Bapu’s thought. India must consider and operationalise Gram Swaraj from the standpoint of farmers and the agriculture sector.

Of India’s geographical area of 329 million hectares, nearly 140 million hectares are net sown; 70 million hectares of this is rain-fed. India has the second highest arable land after the US. Small farmers constitute about 85 per cent of our farming community and cultivate 45 per cent of the land. The average size of farm-holding is about one hectare with low marketable surplus.

Shortage of labor, insufficient mechanization and poor agriculture marketing are among the problematic areas for farmers. Agricultural production and productivity have been increasing since the Green Revolution, but so have input costs. Foodgrains production is expected to be 316 million tonnes (mt) this year.

Groundwater is the major source of irrigation and India is one of the biggest extractors of the same globally. Rainfall has become erratic, with a few and intense rainy days resulting in soil erosion and low moisture retention. The IPCC’s WG-II report released on February 28, 2022, mentions that India’s rice and maize production can decrease by 10-30 per cent and 25-70 per cent, respectively, assuming a 1-4 degree centigrade increase in temperature.

The Situation Assessment Survey of September 2021 mentions that the monthly agricultural household income is ₹10,218. Of this, agriculture contributes 37 per cent, wages 40 per cent, animal farming 15 per cent and others 8 per cent. Farmers’ income is thus a combination of several activities, which vary from region to region.

Farmers’ income gets enhanced when these components are enhanced. When viewed purely from crop-husbandry’s angle, farmers’ income can improve only when crop productivity gets enhanced or cost of cultivation comes down, and the agricultural markets work for farmers. While there is genetic potential for crop productivity to go up, there is a limit to it as farmers’ field conditions vary. The cost of cultivation has been increasing because of the rise in cost of agricultural inputs, which cannot be reduced beyond a point.

Thus, input costs are increasing, productivity is rising gradually, but the prices realised by the farmers are not remunerative enough.

Two-pronged approach

This logjam can be broken by adopting two approaches simultaneously: improving the efficiency of factors of crop production; and piloting Gram Swaraj. The broad elements of the former can be:

Recommending crops based on suitability and rainfall patterns., as also sowing dates for crops based on market arrivals and price trends.

Improving efficiency in irrigation.

Ensuring at least some primary grading and processing at farmers’ level.

Wider and efficient coverage of insurance and agricultural loans.

Secondary agricultural interventions like traceability, certification, product-standardisation, branding, connecting buyers and sellers, etc.

Now, why go for a pilot Gram Swaraj? Individual farmer-oriented approaches have not delivered enough. Our administrative system is divided into several line departments but the recipient is one — the farmer. The optimal approach is considering the village as a unit for planning, by adapting the area approach.

Livelihoods must then be planned so that village(s) can specialise and have enough marketable surplus for produce aggregation. The infrastructure required must then be created to match actual requirements. Support from line departments is usually straitjacketed and cannot handle the area planning approach.

Hence, empowered project management units can only implement Gram Swaraj initially. When this idea gets grounded, the line departments can be re-engineered. The ‘One District One Product’ scheme essentially emphasises on specialisation, for economies of scale to work, right from production to marketing. The idea is to further refine it to the village level.

The writer is Deputy Managing Director, NABARD. Views are personal

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