23 December 2024 : Indian Express Editorial Analysis

1. Farms as sites of nurturing   

(Source: Indian Express; Section: The Ideas Page; Page: 13)

Topic: GS3 – Agriculture

Context

The article emphasizes the need for the Union Budget 2025-26 to prioritize policies that enhance agricultural productivity, sustainability, and farmer welfare while addressing climate resilience and market reforms.

Enhancing Agricultural Productivity and Resilience

• The Union Budget 2025-26 presents an opportunity to address critical challenges in agriculture while making the sector more productive, competitive, remunerative, and sustainable.
• A major focus should be on combating climate change impacts on agriculture.
• With rising temperatures and declining monsoon precipitation, climate-resilient agriculture becomes paramount.
• Allocating more resources for agricultural R&D, doubling its share from less than 0.5% to at least 1% of the agri-GDP, is essential.
• Furthermore, improving soil health through balanced fertilisation, incorporating biofertilisers, and promoting technologies like nano-urea can enhance productivity sustainably.
• Revising the current fertiliser subsidy policy to avoid overuse of nitrogen-based fertilisers and incentivize balanced nutrient application will be pivotal.

Reforming Fertiliser Policies

• The fertiliser subsidy structure has led to excessive use of nitrogen while neglecting other critical nutrients like phosphorus and potassium.
• Direct income transfers to farmers on a per-hectare basis could replace the existing subsidy framework.
• This reform would free fertiliser prices from controls, restore nutrient balance, and curb misuse, resulting in environmental and economic benefits.
• Leveraging data from soil health cards, fertiliser sales, and PM-KISAN could ensure targeted support.
• Building trust among farmers through effective communication and transparent implementation is key to success.

Strengthening Agricultural Value Chains

• Agriculture needs to be viewed as an integrated food system encompassing production, marketing, and consumption.
• Enhancing farmers’ share in consumer prices through robust value chains, similar to the milk sector, is critical.
• Starting with fruits and vegetables, which currently yield only one-third of consumer prices to farmers, can revolutionize the sector.
• Establishing a dedicated board like the NDDB for fruits and vegetables, led by visionary leadership, could drive transformative changes akin to the White Revolution.

Rationalizing Market and Export Policies

• India’s agri-policies often penalize farmers through erratic export controls and domestic market interventions, reflecting a pro-consumer bias.
• Practices like banning exports of onions, wheat, and sugar or dumping rice and wheat in the domestic market below economic costs suppress farm incomes.
• Such anti-market actions, coupled with stocking limits and futures market restrictions, lead to a negative Producer Support Estimate (PSE) of -15.5% for Indian farmers, compared to 14% in China and OECD nations.
• Rationalising these policies to support market dynamics and ensure fair pricing for farmers is imperative.

Prioritizing Sustainable Agriculture

• The Natural Farming Mission, though promising, cannot solely sustain India’s growing population.
• Policies must integrate sustainability with scalability. Encouraging organic carbon retention in soils, efficient irrigation practices, and resource-use efficiency will support long-term agricultural health.
• Additionally, fostering innovations in agri-tech and precision farming can amplify productivity while reducing environmental footprints.

Policy Directions for Union Budget 2025-26

• Increased Budget Allocation for R&D: Doubling the agri-R&D allocation to address climate challenges.
• Reforming Subsidies: Transitioning to direct income transfers and promoting balanced fertiliser use.
• Building Value Chains: Establishing a dedicated body for fruits and vegetables to replicate the success of the dairy sector.
• Rational Export Policies: Removing export controls and aligning policies to market dynamics to eliminate implicit taxes on farmers.
• Focus on Sustainability: Integrating soil health, water conservation, and climate-resilient practices into mainstream policies.

By addressing these areas, the government can lay the groundwork for a more robust, equitable, and sustainable agricultural framework that ensures food security, farmer welfare, and environmental preservation.

What Should be the Steps Ahead to Reform the Farm Sector in India?

Holistic Agricultural Approach: Take agriculture as a comprehensive food system encompassing production, marketing, and consumption. Improve access to credit, inputs, and farmer-centric advisory through institutional reforms. Promote organic farming, integrated pest management, and soil health management. Strengthen farmer-producer organizations (FPOs) and cooperatives for collective bargaining. Value Chain Development: Build robust value chains for high-value crops, dairy products, fisheries, and poultry. Collaborate with the private sector, cooperatives, and farmer-producer companies to achieve this. Implement public-private partnerships and schemes similar to the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme in industry to enhance value chain development. Access to Technologies and Markets: Ensure farmers have access to the best technologies and global markets to improve productivity and incomes. Address policy biases that favor consumers over farmers by reducing export bans, stock limits on traders, and market price suppression tactics. Increase expenditure on agricultural research and development (R&D) and extension services to at least 1% of agri-GDP, up from the current level of less than 0.5% Reform Fertiliser Subsidy: Transfer the fertiliser subsidy to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Currently, the subsidy is managed by the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, which has limited direct interaction with farmers. Rationalize fertiliser subsidy distribution to correct the imbalance in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium usage. Transition to direct benefit transfers for fertiliser subsidies, allowing farmers to choose between chemical and bio-fertilisers or natural farming methods. Inclusive Growth and Social Security Implement comprehensive crop insurance schemes and income support programs. Assure procurement of crops at minimum support prices (MSP) to stabilize farm incomes. Creating Climate Resilient Agriculture: There is an urgent need to increase investing resources to create climate-resilient (smart) agriculture. This would mean more investments in seeds that are heat and flood-resistant, and more investment in water resources not just in augmenting their supplies but also ensuring water is being used more wisely. “More crop per drop” should not be just a slogan but a reality. Drips, sprinklers, and protected cultivation as part of precision agriculture will have to be adopted at a much larger scale than today.

PYQ: How far is the Integrated Farming System (IFS) helpful in sustaining agricultural production? (150 words/10m) (UPSC CSE (M) GS-3 2019)

Practice Question: Discuss the key challenges faced by Indian agriculture in the context of climate change and resource mismanagement. Suggest policy measures that the Union Budget 2025-26 can incorporate to enhance agricultural productivity, ensure farmer welfare, and promote sustainability. (250 words/15 m)

 

For more such UPSC related Current Affairs, Check Out: 21 December 2024 : Indian Express Editorial Analysis