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What got buried under the dreaded swine flu outbreak was the alarming agrarian scenario in the country. Sheela Bhatt talks to T Nandkumar, secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, on the crisis.
"This is a difficult year for agriculture in India. It is a worrying situation." says Nandkumar. In an exclusive interview to rediff.com, Nandkumar talked about the rain deficit, its impact on paddy crop and the disturbing economic situation for farmers.
Nandkumar says it is too early to quantify the deficit in foodgrain production but, a 6-million hectare deficit in paddy cultivation has been noted in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Nandkumar, whose office has a top view of the farming sector in India, says farmers could somehow make up by growing maize or jowar instead of paddy.
The Krishi Bhuvan control room gets data on production from all over the country. The data shows that rice, groundnut and sugarcane production will be affected by a below-par monsoon, but the government, in anticipation of a fall in production, has managed to stock enough grains and has encouraged the import of edible oils.
Nandkumar, one of the most pragmatic officers in Indian Civil Service, has been unwell, but unable to go home early. He works long hours at Krishi Bhuvan to deal with the crisis. He was scheduled to visit Norway and Brazil, but had to cancel his trip. He checks updated versions India Meteorological Department's monsoon forecast which has the best derivation of data on monsoon forecast.
When big industries are affected due to an economic downturn, they get "stimulus packages" in front of TV cameras and their bosses are received in New Delhi by ministers. But, millions of small and marginal farmers do not knock the door of ministers or secretaries in New Delhi.
Nandkumar assures, 'We know farmers do not make news. But, I am picking up every single signal of distress."
Explaining the nuances of drought, he said, 'We are capable of tackling drought. As the prime minister says, there will not be a famine. The macro issues related to this will be managed. But, when the drought comes we have to micro-manage food security of small farmers and poor people who are dependent on farms. In the absence of rains, food security of families is affected. Even when an alternate crop is produced, the income level goes down. In Bundelkhand and Jharkhand, thousands of small and marginal farmers feel the pressure."
The Agriculture Ministry updates its website every day. Nandkumar says the government is quite aware of the situation but, he wants to assure that black marketers do not illegally hoard the food. He says, " We don't think drought is a disaster , we take it as a management issue and government is taking comprehensive measures."
He says, "When farmers of any region cannot get 50% of their normal produce, only then can drought be declared by the state government in those areas. Right now, drought has been declared in 167 districts, which include 58 districts of Uttar Pradesh and 26 districts of Bihar."
According to the government, 27 districts in Assam, 12 districts in Himachal Pradesh, 24 districts in Jharkhand,9 districts in Manipur and 11 districts in Nagaland are drought affected.
The drought announcement demands special budgets that come from the Calamity Relief Fund and are decided by the Finance Ministry.
According to Nandkumar, Rs 10,000 crore will be spent this year on managing the drought. It will include a subsidy of Rs. 1000 crore for additional diesel to farmers, Rs 1000 crore under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna and Rs 250 crore under the National Food Security Mission.
The states have been asked to provide additional power to farmers to run water pumps to facilitate farming. Uttar Pradesh has been already given an additional supply of 100 MW of power, but farmers complained that power was diverted to cities. Now, the agriculture department has been asked to keep watch on the grid and ensure that farmers get enough power supply in farms .From the Calamity Relief Fund, around Rs 4000 crore will be diverted to the drought-struck areas.
According to Nandkumar, the Drought Management Division is geared up to fight the crisis.
"We have ensured that wherever in the country rains are better, we will help farmers to increase the production to off-set the deficit of the drought-prone areas. As you know, by and large rains are okay all over India. We have ensured that additional fertilizers and diesel are provided to farmers, who are in position to produce more. In Karnataka, water is available so we have managed to supply other support system to increase the production over there. We are encouraging farmers to take more than one crop this season wherever it is possible."
Due to these additional push these year toor dal production will be higher than last year. The farmers in Punjab are likely to draw more groundwater to maintain the food production level. He jokingly said, "Punjab farmers will somehow manage the average level of foodgrain production. Drought can never be declared in Punjab, because Punjabi farmers will never allow production figure to fall below 50%".
When asked why can't modern agro-science take precautionary steps to avoid the effect of drought on the country, Nandkumar says, "Beyond a point, the government is not in a position to make farming droughtproof. To tackle climate change any country has to look into management of its water and agriculture systems."
Nandkumar argues that unless farmers in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar also get same level of production from every hectare as Punjab does, there is no way food security can be assured in a drought-like situation. Punjab farmers get almost 3.8 tons of produce whereas the Bihari farmers get 1.1 tons."
Asked if the situation was likely to change in the coming years, he replied in negative.
"The farming sector is so big that it is difficult to set the governance right in many states. How can you improve the power situation in Bihar or UP overnight? It is not possible to bring in change in few years. Despite having ample water, Bihar and UP suffer when drought comes."
Nandkumar says, "This year the drought will be less severe as those farmers who will lose income can earn from the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act scheme which was not available previously. We have enough foodstock but the only issue is of a "delivery system". There is a deficiency in delivery. That needs to be in place in states."
Nandkumar says, "This year the agriculture department will have to see that at a micro-level, hunger and employment of drought-affected people is taken care of. We are shifting our attention from long-term targets to short term management."
Nandkumar recently travelled anonymously around the farms in Varanasi to get a first-hand information.
At one place, a farmer told him, "Saab, is baar beej or khadh samay pe mil gaya lekin bhagvan saath nahin diya," (Sir, this time we got seeds and fertilizers on time, but God didn't support us. Nandkumar says, " My farmers do not complain."