Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Loan waiver necessary, but alternative farm practices the need of the hour: Desarda -Veydaant Khanna

Loan waiver necessary, but alternative farm practices the need of the hour: Desarda -Veydaant Khanna

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Jun 15, 2017   modified Modified on Jun 15, 2017
-The Hindu

Economist suggests implementation of a radical form of and distribution and ‘low external input sustainable agriculture’ system

Mumbai:
Economist and former member of Maharashtra State Planning Board H.M. Desarda, on Tuesday termed the recently announced farm loan waiver by the State government as a necessary but not sufficient condition to deal with the problems related to agriculture.

Prof. Desarda linked today’s problems in agriculture to ecology and traced their origins to the techno-economic model of farming ushered in by the Green Revolution.

“A radical form of land distribution and low external input sustainable agriculture (LEISA), a system of agriculture which is based on principles and options which are ecologically sound, economically feasible and culturally acceptable, are alternative solutions to the issue we are facing,” he said.

Cognisant of the fact that farmers are price takers and distress sellers, Prof. Desarda suggested that not only should farmers be given minimum support prices, but there must be a procurement guarantee as well.

When asked how the loan waiver would impact the State’s fiscal deficit, Prof. Desarda said, “The country has 6 lakh crore in non-performing assets, and the telecommunication sector has a debt of ?4 lakh crore. But when one talks about waiving loans for farmers, we raise questions about the fiscal deficit. The state has 15 lakh hectares of non-agricultural land. If you collect a flat ?100 per hectare from this land, waiving the loans will not be a problem. There must, however, be a political will to act. India is a rich country inhabited by poor people.”

Prof. Desarda said the word ‘development’ troubled him. “For short-term political gains and increase in productivity, people narrowed the base of agriculture, and we have paid a heavy ecological price. The crisis of agriculture today cannot be solved by more of the same industrial farming system,” he said.

Prof. Desarda also critiqued the mono-cropping system that the Green Revolution put into place.

He added that the fossil fuel-based path of agricultural growth has become unsustainable in the face of global warming and climate change.

Please click here to read more.

The Hindu, 14 June, 2017, http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/loan-waiver-necessary-but-alternative-farm-practices-the-need-of-the-hour-desarda/article19034015.ece


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close