Organic & Sustainable Agriculture

In view of the growing negative consequences of modern agriculture there is growing demand to promote “sustainable agriculture”. The key to sustainable agriculture is the capacity of farmers and all other actors in agricultural development, as well as the wider society, to learn, experiment, adapt and cooperate in an effective way.

Recent Developments

Operation Greens

In the budget speech of 2018-19, a new Scheme “Operation Greens” was announced on the line of “Operation Flood”, with an outlay of Rs.500 crore to promote Farmer Producers Organizations, agri-logistics, processing facilities and professional management. Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) on November 5, 2018 approved the operationalization strategy for Operation Greens.

Short term Price Stabilisation Measures

  • NAFED will be the Nodal Agency to implement price stabilisation measures.
  • MoFPI will provide 50% of the subsidy on the following two components:
    • Transportation of Tomato, Onion and Potato (TOP) Crops from production to storage
    • Hiring of appropriate storage facilities for TOP Crops

Major objectives of “Operation Greens” are-

  • Enhancing value realisation of TOP farmers by targeted interventions to strengthen TOP production clusters and their FPOs, and linking/connecting them with the market.
  • Price stabilisation for producers and consumers by proper production planning in the TOP clusters and introduction of dual use varieties.
  • Reduction in post-harvest losses by creation of farm gate infrastructure, development of suitable agro-logistics, and creation of appropriate storage capacity linking consumption centres.
  • Increase in food processing capacities and value addition in TOP value chain with firm linkages with production clusters.
  • Setting up of a market intelligence network to collect and collate real time data on demand and supply and price of TOP crops.

Production Clusters

Tomato

  • Andhra Pradesh: Chittoor and Anantpur (Kharif & Rabi crops)
  • Karnataka: Kolar & Chikkaballapur (Kharif crop)
  • Odisha: Mayurbhanj & Keonjhar (Rabi crop)
  • Gujarat: Sabarkantha

Onion

  • Maharashtra: Nasik (Rabi crop)
  • Karnataka: Gadag & Dharwad (Kharif crop)
  • Gujarat: Bhavnagar & Amreli
  • Bihar: Nalanda

Potato

  • Uttar Pradesh: Agra, Firozabad, Hathras and Aligarh; Farrukhabad and Kannauj
  • West Bengal: Hooghly and Purba Bardhaman
  • Bihar: Nalanda
  • Gujarat: Banaskantha and Sabarkantha

Weather Derivatives

The Economic Survey 2017-18 mentions that climate change could reduce annual agricultural incomes in India in the range of 15% to 18%, on average, and up to 20% to 25% for non-irrigated areas. Significantly, about 52% of India’s total land under agriculture is still non-irrigated or is rain-fed. Weather derivative instruments can be helpful for tackling such situations.

What are Weather Derivatives?

  • Derivatives with weather-based parameters (such as variability in rainfall or temperature) are financial instruments that can be used by organisations or individuals to reduce risks associated with adverse or unexpected weather conditions.
  • These instruments can be traded over exchanges or in over-the-counter (OTC) platforms.
  • Farmers can use rainfall derivatives to hedge against poor harvests caused by drought or excess rainfall - theme parks, multiplexes, malls may insure against rainy weekends during peak seasons.
  • Globally, variations in temperature are one of the biggest weather risks that are hedged against using weather derivatives, although risks from other weather phenomena such as rainfall variability or snowfall days could also be similarly protected against.
  • In India, the protection is generally sought against the impact caused due to the uncertainty and unreliability of rainfall, hence there is a perceptible demand for rainfall derivatives.

Krishonnati Yojana to Continue

To ensure better coordination and fine-tuning, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), approved the umbrella scheme in agriculture sector beyond 12th five year plan for the period from 2017-18 to 2019-20. This move will merge 11 different government agricultural schemes into an umbrella scheme called Green Revolution- Krishonnati Yojana (GRKY).

Schemes under GRKY

  • The 11 schemes which have been merged and are under implementation for the past few years focus on creating/strengthening of infrastructure of production, reducing output cost and marketing of agriculture and allied produce.
  • The Centre incorporated these schemes which were earlier appraised independently under one umbrella scheme since a host of authorities had become an obstacle in proper implementation.

11 Schemes

  1. Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH)
  2. National Food Security Mission (NFSM)
  3. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA)
  4. Submission on Agriculture Extension (SMAE)
  5. Sub-Mission on Seeds and Planting Material (SMSP)
  6. Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM)
  7. Sub Mission on Plant Protection and Plan Quarantine (SMPPQ)
  8. Integrated Scheme on Agriculture Census, Economics and Statistics (ISACES)
  9. Integrated Scheme on Agricultural Cooperation (ISAC)
  10. Integrated Scheme on Agricultural Marketing (ISAM)
  11. National e-Governance Plan (NeGP-A)

The Schemes/Missions focus on creating/strengthening of infrastructure of production, reducing production cost and marketing of agriculture and allied produce. These schemes/missions have been under implementation for varying duration during past few years.

Sustainable Agriculture

The word sustainable is derived from the Latin, ‘sustinere’ meaning to keep in existence, implying permanence or long-term support. Sustainable agriculture is a type of agriculture that focuses on producing long-term crops and livestock without harming the environment.

National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture

The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) is envisaged as one of the eight Missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) with the objective of promoting Sustainable Agriculture. The thrust areas to be addressed under this Mission are dryland agriculture, access to information, bio-technology and risk management.

Other Government Initiatives for Sustainable Agriculture

  • Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichayee Yojana - for irrigation and water use efficiency.
  • Micro Irrigation Fund - focuses on “more crop per drop”

8 Missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC)

  • National Solar Mission
  • National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency
  • National Mission on Sustainable Habitat
  • National Water Mission
  • National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem
  • National Mission for Green India
  • National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture
  • National Mission on Strategic Knowledge on Climate Change
  • Long Term Irrigation Fund - to bring an additional land area under irrigation.
  • Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana - It incentivises States to draw up plans for their agriculture sector more comprehensively taking agro-climatic conditions, natural resource issues and technology into account.
  • Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana – It is a comprehensive insurance scheme that covers the damage caused by natural calamities.
  • Sustainable Sugarcane Initiative- It is a method of sugarcane production using less seeds, less water and optimum utilization of fertilizers and land to achieve more yields.
  • System of Rice Intensification (SRI)- It is an agro-ecological methodology for increasing the productivity of irrigated rice by changing the management of plants, soil, water and nutrients. It is a low water, labor-intensive, method that uses younger seedlings singly spaced.
  • Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund - to reduce the dependence of farmers on agriculture and provide other allied options.
  • Rural Infrastructure Development Fund - to provide for rural India’s infrastructure requirement.

Challenges for Sustainable Development in India

  • Studies by FAO have shown that small farms in developing countries contribute around 30-35% to the total agricultural output.
  • The pace of adoption of modern technology in India is slow and the farming practices are too haphazard and unscientific.
  • Some of the basic issues for development of Indian agriculture sector are revitalization of cooperative institutions, improving rural credits, research, human resource development, trade and export promotion, land reforms and education.
  • Rising population and degraded ecosystems have increased resilience on intensive, conventional (use of HYV seeds, chemical fertilizers) and deforestation.
  • There is lack of capital among the large sections of agricultural community (small and medium farmers) for transition to sustainable agricultural production.
  • There is lack of access to information and technology to improve agriculture practices, processing and marketing agricultural products.
  • There is inadequate public policy and basic infrastructure to promote adoption of sustainable agricultural practices.

Organic Farming

Organic farming is a type of agriculture or farming which avoids the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators, and livestock feed additives. It rely on crop rotation, crop residues, animal manures, legumes, green manure, off-farm organic wastes and biofertilisers, mechanical cultivation, mineral bearing rocks to maintain soil productivity to supply plant nutrients and biological pest control, controlling weeds, insects and other pests. All kinds of agricultural products can be produced organically, including grains, meat, dairy, eggs, fibres such as cotton, jute, flowers etc. Thus organic farming creates a sustainable lifestyle for generations to come.

Revolutions in Farming

Revolution

Related to

Green

Grains and Cereals mainly Wheat (Father of Green Revolution-Norman Borlaug)

Blue

Fisheries

Brown

Leather

Silver

Egg & Poultry

White

Dairy (Operation Flood) (Father of White Revolution - Dr. Verghese Kurien)

Golden

Fruits/Honey/Overall Horticulture

Golden Fibre

Jute

Silver Fibre

Cotton

Grey

Fertilizer

Round

Potato

Red

Meat/ Tomato

Yellow

Oil seed

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