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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | A good monsoon is an occasion to invest in a major overhaul of farm policy

A good monsoon is an occasion to invest in a major overhaul of farm policy

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published Published on Apr 28, 2012   modified Modified on Apr 28, 2012
-The Economic Times

India will have a normal monsoon this year, says the Met office. This is good news, even though the forecast does not rule out some slack during the second half of the season. What matters finally is the distribution of rainfall across space and time rather than the aggregate percentages. However, a good monsoon is only one side of the story to have a strong farm sector.

Reforms are needed on many fronts, given that over the last eight years, growth in the farm sector has lagged at 3.5%, while the economy has grown above 8.4% each year. An overarching concern is moving from a regime of senseless subsidies that eat away the government's ability to carry out meaningful investment in the farm sector.

Other steps follow from this imperative. One, yields must be enhanced for all crops through modern crop husbandry, investment in water management and new hybrid and bio-engineered seeds. Cropping mix changes also make some sense. Two, farmers should be free to sell their produce to anyone, not only to mandis or agents.

For this, states should scrap Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees (APMC) that give monopoly to some traders to buy crops. This will ensure better returns for farmers, and yet keep food inflation under check.

Three, an active trade policy is needed to manage food stocks that are piling up with the government - stocks are expected to rise to 74 million tonnes by June-end compared to available storage capacity of around 64 million tonnes.

Much of this will rot unless it is exported. And we need to export when global prices are high and import during global gluts - be it wheat, rice, sugar or cotton. Four, the government should also allow private trade to procure, store and distribute food grain. Competition will reduce Food Corporation of India's inefficiency, lower costs and bring down the food subsidy bill.

Lastly, the country needs to optimise water use, with 80% of the annual rainfall coming from south-west monsoon. Surface water management and canal irrigation must be developed and water bodies maintained to retain water for longer periods.

The Economic Times, 28 April, 2012, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/editorial/a-good-monsoon-is-an-occasion-to-invest-in-a-major-overhaul-of-farm-policy/articleshow/12903345.cms


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