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Resource centre on India's rural distress
 
 

Devinder Sharma, a well-known trade and agriculture expert, interviewed by Rashme Sehgal (Newsclick.in)

-Newsclick.in

Agri expert Devinder Sharma says today, as in the past, commodity trading, massive speculation and unfair terms of trade are behind rising food prices.

As India battles food price inflation, Devinder Sharma, a well-known trade and agriculture expert, explains why Indian policymakers should boost farm incomes to revive the economy. “If farmers, comprising 50% of the country’s population, were to receive a higher income through a guaranteed MSP, it would create a vast rural demand, nothing short of a ‘rocket dose’ for the economy,” he says. Excerpts from an interview with Rashme Sehgal.

* There are apprehensions that India’s food security is at risk. Wheat procurement is half what it was last year. Is that why the government has banned wheat exports?

These are testing times. India will have to be doubly cautious with the Russia-Ukraine conflict showing no signs of ending soon and a scramble to buy and stock wheat globally given the supply shortfalls. Perhaps, for this reason, the government has imposed a ban on wheat exports. And rightly so. Imagine where we would have gotten wheat supplies from if the domestic stocks in future were not enough to address food security concerns.

Let’s first try to understand what has led to this situation. A swirling heatwave has reduced wheat production within the country, with procurement not likely to touch even 20 million tonnes against the target of 44.4 million tonnes. There is a lot of trade interest in allowing unhindered exports, with some private companies claiming that even 21 million tonnes can be exported, but my understanding, despite the euphoria being exhibited, is that there should be restrictions on unbridled wheat exports.

We have to be extra watchful, knowing well that with any climatic aberrations, like the sudden heatwave that struck in early March, production estimates anytime can go awry. The heatwave has reduced wheat productivity in Punjab and Haryana, the food bowl, by five quintals per acre. This has pulled down the production estimate by six million tonnes, which may turn out to be still higher when the final production statistics come in. Given that the next wheat harvest is a year away, in April 2023, we cannot take any chances. Food security cannot be put at risk.

This is because India cannot afford to repeat the wheat blunder of 2005-06 when it was forced to import 7.1 million tonnes of wheat in 2005-06 and 2006-07 at double the prices we had paid to our farmers. A policy shift favouring private companies, allowing them to purchase wheat directly from farmers, resulted in short supplies for the public distribution requirements. There was no shortfall in production at the time, and yet India had to resort to massive wheat imports. Luckily, these imports came in before the global food crisis erupted in 2007-08, which resulted in food riots in 37 countries. But this time, if India needs to import, there would be no supplies available off-the-shelf.

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