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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Systemic transformation in agriculture must put the farmer at the centre -Arunabha Ghosh

Systemic transformation in agriculture must put the farmer at the centre -Arunabha Ghosh

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published Published on Apr 4, 2019   modified Modified on Apr 4, 2019
-Hindustan Times

Farming must become sustainable since agriculturists are struggling to build resilience against many threats

I spent international women’s day in Mangalagiri, in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, with Usha Rani. As a single mother for 17 years, she has raised two children (now in second-year college and in high school). Three years ago, she switched to natural farming. On less than half an acre, she practises multicropping, growing maize, banana, moringa, turmeric, chilli, gourd and guava. The products fetch her a premium in Vijayawada, up to two-and-a-half times per unit compared to what she would earn if the crops had been grown with chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Her input costs have fallen by half to a quarter. Usha has also taken a loan of more than Rs 100,000 to build a store from where to sell her inoculants of natural fertilisers and pesticides. Her income (including from the shop) is nearly five times what she earned from conventional farming.

Agriculture in India needs to become more sustainable even as small and marginal farmers struggle to build resilience against many threats. First, they remain price-takers and economically vulnerable, beholden to traders who set prices, and with limited opportunities to sell at a time of their choice (due to poor storage). Further, decades of intensive agriculture have added to water stress and declining soil health. Farmers rely on groundwater for more than 60% of irrigation needs. Chemical fertilisers, once a boon to boost soil nutrients, have been applied so intensively (particularly urea) that the long-term health of soils is now of deep concern.

A changing climate compounds the risks. My colleague, Dr Vaibhav Chaturvedi, estimates that under a low-climate-impact scenario, average production across six crops (rice, wheat, maize, oilseeds, sugarcane, cotton fibres) would fall by 5% by 2030 and by a quarter by 2100 relative to business-as-usual. If crop production were even more sensitive to average warming, a high-climate-impact scenario results in 40% fall in production. Larger states such as Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, which cultivate sugarcane and oilseeds, may be most affected by associated economic losses.

Systemic transformation in agricultural systems must put the farmer at the centre. Experiments with natural farming should be evaluated accordingly. Agriculturalist Subhash Palekar has tried to popularise the practice: treating seeds with natural inoculants, applying natural formulations to increase soil microbial conditions, mulching the soil surface with organic material to reduce water evaporation, and soil aeration.

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Hindustan Times, 2 April, 2019, https://www.hindustantimes.com/columns/systemic-transformation-in-agriculture-must-put-the-farmer-at-the-centre/story-tt7eAgknufWV37CerhAPdM.html


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