Hon'ble PM's Webinar on Transforming the Agriculture Sector - Strategies for Implementation
Hon’ble Prime Minister’s Webinar on March’01, 2021
Transforming the Agriculture Sector:
Union Budget 2021
“Strategies for Implementation”
by:
Vijay SARDANA
The Hon'ble Prime Minister has rightly said, we meet better approaches and out-of-box thinking in all aspects of pre- & post- agriculture production, research and management to improve the welfare of farmers.
After 70 years, Agri-Trade is allowed to function as per the provisions of the Constitution. For 70 years, the constitution was ignored and farmers were exploited and this led to rural poverty and unemployment. Chapter 13, Article 301 to 304 days no barrier should be there in trade and commerce inter-state and intra-state.
This reform is the biggest reform in human history and maybe the biggest reform that will impact the maximum number of people and their livelihood. This reform will change all key dimensions of Indian society - i.e. economic, social and political dimensions.
After these three Agri-Trade laws, we are part of the new world and our approach must change drastically. It is vitally important to ensure better price realization for the farmers (in livestock farmers and fishermen). We must also relook into all other plans related to agriculture and rural development. Now we have to empower the farmers with information, skills, technology and infrastructure and to ensure their smooth linkage with markets for a better return for their crops.
After these three agri-trade laws, technically all 6.65 lakh villages will emerge as investment destinations. Rs. One Lakh Crore Agri-infrastructure Fund should play a catalytic role in changing the rural economy.
After these three agri-trade laws, Agriculture and agro-based industries will be the biggest driver for sustainable employment and income generation in the country in the coming days.
Please translate all Laws and policies in regional languages and ensure DD Kisan should be revamped to make it meaningful and useful. This will help in curtailing rumours and misleading campaigns.
Immediate National Challenge:
Growing population, shrinking natural resources like water and land, degrading soil health and growing biosecurity threats need a much better and coordinated response.
The growing population of India and increasing purchasing power will demand more food from the same land and natural resources. The demand for food items will be around 1200 million tons by 2030.
Traditional regional foods and varieties are much better foods than all we are consuming. They are a good source of nutrition and body immunity-boosting properties. These should be promoted with the help of modern processing and packaging technology.
The Way Forward:
I have the following suggestions. These suggestions do not demand additional resources, but a time-bound action plan and all these can be done in 100 days.
1. Encourage state governments to ensure a level playing field and equal opportunity for farmers and farmer bodies:
Please call the meeting of all Chief Ministers and Ensure a minimum of 50% of shops in APMCs are allocated to registered farmer bodies like FPOs, Cooperatives, etc. Or If any state government is unable to do it, all farmer bodies must be considered as deemed members of All APMCs by default they must be by default at par with licence holder members of local APMCs and are entitled to use APMC facilities.
Provide FPOs Market Place in every locality with a population of 10000 people. This can be an identified place where FPOs can park their vans/vehicles for retail sale directly to consumers.
2. Biomass in any form is a wealth of society, must be utilized for value addition - No biomass should go waste - India needs an innovative mindset at all decision making positions in institutes and administration. All by-products from all crops must be treated as valuable biomass and due attention should be given to ensure its meaningful and productive utilization. This will create new ventures and new investment opportunities. The burning of biomass must be the last option. There is a shortage of biomass for feed and fodder purposes as well.
3. Bridge the knowledge and skill gaps: Review the mandate of all Agriculture Universities and Agriculture Research Centers. The budget has allocated resources, parliament has given policy and legal support, the missing link is required skill sets and knowledge base. All agri-universities must be asked to split their efforts between 50% pre-harvest activities and 50% on post-harvest activities. All universities must show tangible income growth at the farmers’ end. There must be a quarterly and half-yearly review of the stated performance parameters based on global benchmarking.
50% of their resources should be for post-harvest related development including by-product utilization management and training to rural youth in their identified areas of specialization. This will ensure better resource utilization, biomass utilization, local entrepreneurship.
4. Strengthen Market Intelligence: All KVKs, all warehouses, commodity boards, all trade associations and trade desks of Indian embassies must be linked on the common server to create a real-time market intelligence network to share changes in the market place and other related information. This should also be linked to the eNAM port for better price discovery. Like the digital payment campaign, the eNWR should be promoted to improve price realization by farmers and to reduce overheads and wastages.
5. Check food adulteration by ensuring transparency in the functioning of regulators like FSSAI. This will ensure better price realization for farmers and to protect public health and to encourage investment by honest companies. Adultrators not only play with public health but also hurt honest investors, exploit farmers and consumers, defame the nation and are involved in all sorts of corruption. These are like cancer cells or you may equate them with sleeper cells for economic terrorism. PMO should ensure there must be transparency at the regulators level. The consumer should know which all brands and products are found adulterated or substandard. This will ensure competition for better raw material and will give a boost for better price realization for farmers and healthy and safe food to the citizens. India’s image will improve and exports will also get a boost. Similarly, spurious seeds and duplicate pesticides are also a big concern for farmers. The use of digital technology should be encouraged to control this problem. Display all samples results which were found defective to consumers with the name of bad players, brands and lot number so that consumer can avoid such bad companies. This will encourage honest and good companies. This will ensure all companies focus on safe and good food manufacturing. This will benefit all stakeholders
6. “Agri-food Grid of India'': Like we have created a financial grid for the Financial Sector, health sector. Similarly, we should also focus on the agri-food sector.
Agri-infrastructure Funds, NABARD, NAFED, FCI, Highway Authority of India and Indian Railways, Port Authority of India, Airport Authority of India and must create “Agri-Food Grid of India”. There is an allocation of Rs. 100,000 crores for Agri infra fund plus huge infrastructure and funds are with every department. I propose, along the highways invest 50 crores in warehousing, cold storages and grading facilities in 15 to 20 acres as per WDRA and BIS guidelines after every 50 Kms and link all of them on the same portal. APMCs should be encouraged to join. Existing FCI, SWC and CWC infrastructure will have better utilization. This will provide backup for eNAM, investment for processing, byproduct utilization, export quality support. This will have the potential to create a minimum of 200 to 2000 jobs at each centre, plus other benefits, I can share the detailed plan with you, whenever required.
All these suggestions are doable from the within resources. The only challenge will be the mindset and resistance to change.
Where there is a will, there is a way. These can be planned in 3 months and execution can be done within this financial year. Except for the last suggestion point number 6.
If any input is required in the case of planning and execution, the undersigned is available.
Thank you.
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